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1892 Map of Worcester

Name: 1892 Topographic Map of Worcester
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1899
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1899

About this map

Wachusett Mt. dominates the northern skyline of this late nineteenth-century Central Massachusetts landscape, a region defined by high ridges and the complex industrial waterways of the Ware River and Kettle Brook. The city of Worcester anchors the southeast corner, showing the sprawling grounds of the State Lunatic Hospital and a dense network of early urban streets. Beyond the city, the landscape is a patchwork of manufacturing hamlets and agricultural centers like Wire Village and Rutland Center.

Transportation corridors are highly developed, with the Massachusetts Central R.R. and the Boston and Albany Railroad cutting through the valleys. The map documents numerous smaller settlements such as Sterling Camp Grounds and Eagleville before the major hydraulic changes of the coming decades would alter the river valleys. Local relief is meticulously detailed from Asnebumskit Hill to the various peaks surrounding Princeton Center.