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1898 Map of Salem

Name: 1898 Topographic Map of Salem
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1898
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1898

About this map

Salem Canal cuts through the marshy lowland of Lower Penns Neck in this late 19th-century survey of southwestern New Jersey. The landscape is defined by the winding tributaries of the Delaware River, including the meandering Mannington Creek and Alloway Creek, which serve as the primary drainage for a region transitioning from tidal flats to rolling farmland. A dense network of small villages and milling sites like Avis Mills and Sharptown reflects an economy deeply tied to water power and river transport.

Industrial and transport corridors are well-established, with the West Jersey and Seashore and the Elmer and Salem Branch railroads connecting rural hubs like Woodstown and Alloway Junction. Genealogists will find interest in localized landmarks such as Berry Chapel and family-named stations like Perkintown Station, which show the intimate scale of settlement before 20th-century suburbanization altered the traditional county boundaries of Salem and Gloucester.