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1954 Map of Trap Pond

Name: 1954 Topographic Map of Trap Pond
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1983
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1983

About this map

Trap Pond State Park anchors this corner of Sussex County, where the southern Delaware landscape is defined by a sophisticated network of drainage ditches and winding branches. The 1954 topography reveals a rural society structured around numerous historical junctions, such as Whaleys Crossroads, Jones Crossroads, and Hitchens Crossroads. These hubs, along with outlying settlements like Hardscrabble and Shortly, served as the primary social and economic anchors for a region transitioning between wooded wetlands and agricultural clearings.

Genealogists and local historians can locate several family-named landmarks and rural community centers, including Ross Point Sch and several country churches like Mt Olivet Ch, Trinity Ch, and St Thomas Ch. The map detail captures the headwaters of the Pocomoke River and a series of managed waterways like Dukes Ditch and Savannah Ditch, illustrating how the early 20th-century landscape was modified to support the local timber and farming industries.