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1943 Map of Waterville

Name: 1943 Topographic Map of Waterville
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1947
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1947

About this map

The Kennebec River serves as the industrial and logistical spine of this Kennebec County landscape, documented during the height of the Second World War. The river corridor is dense with infrastructure, notably the Maine Central Railroad and several concentrated manufacturing and residential hubs at Waterville, Winslow, and Fairfield. On the outskirts of Waterville, the campus of Colby College appears near Mayflower Hill, while the Central Maine Sanatorium stands on the eastern bank of the river near Fairfield Center.

Away from the industrial river valley, the terrain shifts toward rural settlements and family-named landmarks. Small social and educational anchors like the Ten Lots Chapel and the Covell Sch are scattered among ridges like Battle Ridge and Horseback. This map captures a transition period where early institutions like the Good Will Home near Hinckley operated alongside established farming communities and timber-dependent towns before the post-war modernization of the Arnold Highway.