1944 Map of Townsend

About this map

The Squannacook River and Nissitissit River drainage basins define this borderland during the mid-1940s, a period when the local economy relied heavily on the Boston and Maine RR. The map captures the industrial and social clusters of Townsend, West Townsend, and Townsend Harbor, where the river’s power was harnessed at Harbor Pond. To the north, the New Hampshire state line divides the landscape, yet the community remains linked through Brookline and South Brookline.