Titled “Union Springs Quadrangle,” this 1943 United States Geological Survey map presents a precise and quietly beautiful portrait of central New York’s Finger Lakes landscape at a scale of 1:31,680. Centered on Union Springs and Aurora, it captures the eastern shore of Cayuga Lake and the rolling country that rises away from the water into farms, villages, roads, and wooded parcels. Its disciplined topographic language—brown contour lines, carefully graded relief, and green indications of vegetation—transforms a rural region into an elegant scientific image. Published during the Second World War, the map also belongs to an era when accurate domestic mapping was essential for planning, infrastructure, land management, and resource assessment.

The US Geological Survey, established in 1879, became one of America’s great scientific institutions through exactly this kind of work: systematic, standardized, and remarkably detailed mapping of the nation’s terrain. USGS quadrangles were designed to serve engineers, surveyors, planners, geologists, farmers, and government agencies, yet they also possess a restrained visual sophistication that has made them enduring historical documents. On the “Union Springs Quadrangle,” the Survey’s cartographic method is especially evident in the balance between natural form and human settlement. Roads, trails, shorelines, boundaries, drainage, and elevation are rendered with clarity, allowing the viewer to understand not merely where places are, but how the land itself shaped habitation and movement.

Cayuga Lake is the great geographic presence on the map, its long Finger Lakes shoreline defining the western side of the quadrangle and shaping the character of Aurora, Union Springs, Long Point, and nearby lakeside communities. The land rises in gentle but perceptible stages from the water, with contour lines revealing valleys, ridges, and the softly undulating terrain typical of glaciated central New York. This is a landscape formed by ice and water, where fertile soils, lake-moderated climate, and natural corridors encouraged agriculture, settlement, and transport. The map’s topography makes visible the relationship between village sites, shore access, upland farms, and the broader Cayuga basin.

The named places on the map evoke a layered local history: Aurora, with its lakeside setting and long association with education and commerce; Union Springs, positioned along the eastern shore of Cayuga Lake; Romulus and Ovid to the west and southwest in the wider Finger Lakes sphere; and smaller localities such as Sicard, Lakewood, Frontenac Manor, and Holland Land. Roads and trails stitch these communities into a rural network, showing how movement followed the grain of the terrain. The map also records the patterns of 1943 land use—open country, wooded areas, settlement clusters, and infrastructure—offering a valuable snapshot of a region before later suburban and ecological change.

As a historical topographic map, the “Union Springs Quadrangle” is compelling because it captures both permanence and transition. The contours describe ancient landforms that remain largely unchanged, while the roads, settlements, parks, open spaces, and cultivated areas reveal a human geography specific to the mid-twentieth century. Its visual economy rewards close study: a shoreline bend, a subtle rise in elevation, a road threading between farms, or a village aligned with water and slope. For collectors of American maps, Finger Lakes history, or scientific cartography, this sheet offers more than geographic information. It is a refined documentary image of place, where natural beauty and federal precision meet.

Cities, towns and places on this map

• Aurora
• Union Springs
• Romulus
• Cayuga Lake
• Hollanders / Holland Land
• Frontenac Manor
• Sicard
• Lakewood
• Ovid
• Long Point
• Various roads and trails
• Nearby parks and open spaces
• Neighboring infrastructure visible in the topography

Historical context & cartographic details

• Historical 1:31,680 topographical map dated 1943
• Produced by the US Geological Survey (USGS)
• Shows Aurora, Union Springs, and the surrounding Finger Lakes region of New York
• USGS topographical maps were important for land management, planning, and natural resource assessment
• Displays contour lines representing elevation changes and terrain features
• Uses green to indicate vegetation or flatter land and brown to delineate elevation
• Depicts rolling hills, valleys, and the area’s proximity to Cayuga Lake
• Provides insight into land use, settlements, and geographic features as they appeared in 1943
• Helps show changes in development and ecology over time

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 16x20in (40x50cm) 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.