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1953 Map of Watch Hill

Name: 1953 Topographic Map of Watch Hill
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1972
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1972

About this map

Westerly, Rhode Island, and its neighboring community of Pawcatuck, Connecticut, are divided by the winding course of the Pawcatuck River as it flows toward Little Narragansett Bay. This 1953 survey, photorevised in 1970, reveals a landscape defined by coastal recreation and granite industry, with several Quarries (Abandoned) located north of the city center. Along the southern shoreline, the development of Misquamicut and Weekapaug stretches between Winnapaug Pond and the surf of Block Island Sound.

The maritime character of the region is anchored by the Watch Hill Lighthouse at Watch Hill Pt, guarding the entrance to Watch Hill Passage. Inland, the Westerly State Airport and the Penn Central railroad represent the area's mid-century transportation infrastructure. Genealogists and local historians can locate established burial grounds like River Bend Cem and St Sebastian Cem, while the narrow spit of Napatree Beach illustrates the fragile coastal geography of the era.