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1960 Map of Westport

Name: 1960 Topographic Map of Westport
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1983
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1983

About this map

Southport and Westport anchor the coastal landscape of Fairfield County on this mid-century survey, where the Saugatuck River and Sasco Creek meet the Long Island Sound. The map reveals a suburbanizing terrain defined by significant infrastructure and institutional development, including the sprawling grounds of Fairfield University and the path of the Merritt Parkway. Inland, the geography is dominated by a chain of engineered water bodies like the Saugatuck Reservoir and Hemlock Reservoir, which transformed the natural drainage of the Aspetuck River valley.

Local historians can find numerous family-named landmarks and essential community sites, from Gilbertown Cem to Staples High Sch. The intersection of old transportation routes is evident as the Penn Central rail line cuts through the coastal settlements of Fairfield and Mill Plain. This record of the 1960s landscape, with later 1970s photoinspected updates, shows the area just before the era of intensive modern highway expansion.