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1894 Map of Shickshinny

Name: 1894 Topographic Map of Shickshinny
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1894
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1894

About this map

Shickshinny serves as the focal point of this late-nineteenth-century landscape, where the Susquehanna River (North Branch) cuts a dramatic path through the ridge-and-valley system of Luzerne County. This era was defined by a complex transportation network that transitioned from the water-based Pennsylvania Canal to the dominant coal-hauling rail lines, including the Delaware Lackawanna and Western Railroad and the Central Railroad of New Jersey.

Industry and local geography are closely linked, as mining settlements like Glen Lyon, Wanamie, and Nanticoke are shown tucked into the valleys between Lee Mountain and Penobscot Mountain. The persistence of older river crossings is evident through labels for Hicks Ferry and Beach Haven Ferry, providing valuable data for genealogists tracing ancestral movements before the proliferation of modern bridges. Away from the river, smaller agrarian hamlets like Bloomingdale and Muhlenburg dot the northern townships.