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1950 Map of Scranton

Name: 1950 Topographic Map of Scranton
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1950
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1950

About this map

The Lackawanna River corridor serves as the industrial and civic spine of this post-war landscape, where the dense urban centers of Scranton and Dunmore meet the steep slopes of Bald Mountain and Bell Mountain. This survey illustrates a city at its institutional height, anchored by Scranton University, Marywood College, and the sprawling campus of the International Correspondence Schools. The valley is heavily partitioned by a complex web of rail lines, including the Delaware Lackawanna and Western and the Erie RR, which navigate around extensive strip mining areas and the rugged city blocks of Hyde Park and Providence.

Beyond the urban core, residential growth climbs toward South Abington, where landmarks like the Scranton Country Club and West Mountain Sanatorium overlook the valley. The map is a valuable resource for genealogists and local historians, detailing numerous community sites from the Washburn Street Cem to St Anns Monastery, and tracing the path of the Roosevelt Highway as it connects the hilltop settlements of Clarks Summit and Clarks Green to the city below.