Published in 1944 from 1943 survey work, the US Geological Survey’s “Stroudsburg” presents a richly detailed wartime-era portrait of Monroe County and the Delaware Valley. At a scale of 1:31,680, it captures Stroudsburg and East Stroudsburg before the full force of postwar suburban growth, highway expansion, and resort development reshaped the Pocono region. The map’s topographical language is precise and elegant: contour lines gather tightly along ridges, loosen across valleys, and reveal the folds of a landscape where settlement, agriculture, forest, and water routes all respond to the terrain. Roads, railroads, creeks, lakes, and villages are carefully annotated, offering not just a geographic record, but a mid-20th-century snapshot of a Pennsylvania crossroads.

The US Geological Survey, founded in 1879, brought a uniquely authoritative eye to maps such as this. Created for practical use in land management, engineering, environmental study, and navigation, USGS topographic sheets are also admired for their visual clarity and disciplined beauty. This Stroudsburg sheet belongs to an era when contour mapping had become both scientifically rigorous and aesthetically refined. The familiar USGS style—subtle color distinctions, exact lettering, measured hachures and contours, and an orderly hierarchy of roads and waterways—allows the viewer to read the region almost as a three-dimensional landscape. Every bend in Brodhead Creek, every wooded slope, and every rural road participates in a larger story of geology, transportation, and settlement.

Stroudsburg and East Stroudsburg anchor the map, positioned near the meeting of important waterways and travel routes in northeastern Pennsylvania. Brodhead Creek, Bushkill Creek, Little Bushkill Creek, and the Delaware River form a natural framework around which communities developed. Nearby Smithfield, Mount Bethel, Bangor, Kunkletown, and Pequest appear within a broader rural and upland setting, connected by roads, rail lines, and smaller pathways. The map records an era when these towns still retained a close relationship with mills, farms, quarries, rail depots, and river crossings. Modern viewers can trace the foundations of later growth, but the dominant impression remains one of intimate settlement set within a heavily textured natural landscape.

The topographic drama of the region is one of the map’s most compelling qualities. The contours reveal ridges and valleys characteristic of the Poconos and the greater Appalachian terrain, where long uplands and wooded slopes shape travel, drainage, and habitation. Elevation changes are especially pronounced around the creeks and river valleys, creating a visual rhythm of steep-sided hills, narrow hollows, and more open lowlands. Lake Minsi and numerous smaller ponds and water bodies punctuate the sheet, while forested areas emphasize the region’s rugged character. The Delaware River marks not only a major hydrological feature but also a historic boundary and corridor, long used by Indigenous peoples, settlers, industry, and travelers.

Historically, this map is especially evocative because it preserves Stroudsburg and its surroundings on the cusp of major transformation. In the decades after 1944, the Pocono Mountains would become increasingly associated with automobile tourism, second homes, resorts, and expanding road infrastructure. Here, however, the region is still shown in a comparatively restrained mid-century form: railroads remain prominent, local roads thread through small communities, and the landscape beyond town centers appears largely agricultural, wooded, and topographically dominant. Routes such as 611 and 209 hint at the area’s growing connectivity, while the surrounding ridges and waterways retain their older authority over movement and settlement. The result is a beautifully measured document of place, poised between rural Pennsylvania and the modern Pocono corridor.

Cities, towns and places on this map

• Stroudsburg
• East Stroudsburg
• Smithfield
• Mount Bethel
• Bangor
• Kunkletown
• Monroe County
• Pequest
• Delaware River
• Bushkill Creek
• Brodhead Creek
• Lake Minsi
• Little Bushkill Creek
• Route 80
• Route 611
• Route 209
• Railroads
• Various trails and pathways
• Water bodies, including multiple lakes and ponds
• Forested areas
• Ridges and valleys surrounding the towns

Historical context & cartographic details

• Produced by the US Geological Survey as a historical 1:31,680 topographical map.
• Created in 1943 and published with a 1944 imprint.
• The US Geological Survey, established in 1879, is a major American mapping agency known for geospatial, land management, and environmental data.
• Uses a classic USGS topographical style with contour lines to show elevation changes.
• Includes a color scheme indicating land cover, along with clear annotations for roads and waterways.
• Shows pronounced elevation changes, reflecting the hilly and mountainous character of the region.
• Highlights prominent ridges and valleys through detailed contouring.
• Documents the mid-20th-century landscape before later urban expansion, tourism growth, and land-use changes in the area.

Looking for a particular place? Review the detailed images to confirm that the town, landmark or feature you have in mind appears on the map. If you are unsure, ask our workshop to check before you order.

Detailed maps are especially rewarding at larger sizes, where names, boundaries and decorative features have more room to be appreciated. Use the close-up preview and size guide to choose the right scale for your wall.

This map looks amazing at sizes all the way up to 50in (125cm). If you are looking for a larger map, please get in touch.

The model in the listing images is holding the 18x24in (45x60cm) version of this map.

Where personalisation is available, you can add a short title or dedication, mark one meaningful place, or request one considered visual detail. See personalised map examples.

Every piece is printed to museum-grade archival standards using fade-resistant pigment inks on acid-free matte paper. Choose an unframed map print, framed map or canvas using the finish options above. Framed maps use crystal-clear optical acrylic and arrive ready to hang.

With its rich detail and strong sense of place, this map makes a considered gift for a new home, anniversary, retirement or anyone with a personal connection to the area shown. Still deciding? Explore our collection of rare old and vintage maps to discover another place, period or style.

This map is also available as a float framed canvas, sometimes known as a shadow gap framed canvas or canvas floater. The map is printed on artist's cotton canvas and then stretched over a handmade box frame. We then "float" the canvas inside a wooden frame, which is available in a range of colours (black, dark brown, oak, antique gold and white). This is a wonderful way to present a map without glazing in front. See some examples of float framed canvas maps and explore the differences between my different finishes.

For something truly unique, this map is also available in "Unique 3D", our trademarked process that dramatically transforms the map so that it has a wonderful sense of depth. We combine the original map with detailed topography and elevation data, so that mountains and the terrain really "pop". For more info and examples of 3D maps, check my Unique 3D page.