{"product_id":"old-map-of-lexington-massachusetts-by-usgs-1946-concord-bedford-minuteman-national-historical-park","title":"Old Map of Lexington, Massachusetts by USGS, 1946 – Concord, Bedford \u0026 Minuteman National Historical Park","description":"\u003cp\u003eTitled “Lexington,” this 1946 United States Geological Survey map presents one of Massachusetts’s most historically resonant landscapes at the detailed scale of 1:31,680. Centered on Lexington and extending across Bedford, Lincoln, Concord, Burlington, Woburn, Billerica, and adjoining communities, it captures the northwestern approaches to Boston in the immediate postwar era. The map’s mid-century USGS styling is both practical and elegant: crisp contour lines articulate the rolling Middlesex County terrain, while roads, waterways, settlement patterns, and a systematic navigational grid are rendered with the disciplined clarity for which federal topographic cartography is celebrated. It is a portrait of a region poised between colonial memory, agricultural continuity, and modern suburban expansion.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe United States Geological Survey brought to this map the authority of an institution central to American land measurement, resource assessment, and civic planning since the late nineteenth century. USGS topographic sheets were designed not merely as navigational tools, but as comprehensive geographic records, balancing scientific precision with visual legibility. In “Lexington,” that tradition is evident in the careful treatment of elevation, drainage, roads, rail connections, and built-up areas. The map’s contour intervals reveal subtle hills and valleys that might otherwise be overlooked in a landscape now often experienced through highways and development. Its restrained color scheme and rigorous symbology reflect a period when cartography served engineers, planners, soldiers, hikers, historians, and local officials alike.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLexington itself gives the map its enduring historical charge. The town is inseparable from the opening moments of the American Revolutionary War, when the confrontation on Lexington Green in April 1775 became part of the founding mythology of the United States. Sites such as Monument Square and Buckman Tavern evoke that revolutionary landscape, while nearby Concord and Merriam’s Corner extend the geography of the first day’s fighting. The route connecting Lexington, Lincoln, and Concord would later be interpreted through what is now Minuteman National Historical Park, but this 1946 map preserves the area before many layers of commemoration, preservation, and suburbanization fully reshaped it. It shows a living landscape, not merely a shrine to the past.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBeyond its Revolutionary associations, the sheet is rich in the physical geography of eastern Massachusetts. Alewife Brook, the Shawsheen River, Upper Vine Brook, and Lower Vine Brook thread through a terrain of modest uplands, meadows, and low-lying wetlands. Great Meadow and Parker Meadow suggest the ecological texture that long defined the area: marshy basins, open fields, and watercourses feeding broader regional systems. The map also includes Bedford Village, Wilson Farm, and other local landmarks that speak to an older agrarian pattern still visible in 1946. Contour lines and shaded relief emphasize the relationship between settlement and terrain, showing how roads and villages followed ridgelines, stream valleys, and the gently undulating land west of Boston.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe presence of Hanscom Field adds a distinctly twentieth-century layer to the map’s story. Developed from a civilian airfield and expanded during the Second World War, it marks the arrival of aviation, military infrastructure, and postwar technological growth in a region better known for colonial roads and village greens. This juxtaposition is one of the map’s great fascinations: Bedford and Lincoln appear alongside airfield geometry; historic Lexington sits within a network increasingly shaped by automobiles, defense needs, and metropolitan expansion. Since 1946, land use across the sheet has changed dramatically, with suburban development, highway construction, and preservation efforts transforming the historical landscape. As a cartographic record, “Lexington” captures a pivotal moment before those later changes became dominant.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eCities, towns and places on this map\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLexington, Massachusetts\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBedford, Massachusetts\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLincoln, Massachusetts\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHanscom Field\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eConcord, Massachusetts\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAlewife Brook\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShawsheen River\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMerriam's Corner\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBurlington, Massachusetts\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGreat Meadow\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWoburn, Massachusetts\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMinuteman National Historical Park\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWilson Farm\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMonument Square\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBuckman Tavern\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBedford Village\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eUpper Vine Brook\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLower Vine Brook\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBillerica, Massachusetts\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eParker Meadow\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eHistorical context \u0026amp; cartographic details\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eProduced by the US Geological Survey, this historical 1:31,680 topographical map shows Lexington, Massachusetts and the surrounding area.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDate of creation: 1946.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMapmaker or publisher: US Geological Survey (USGS).\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe USGS is known for detailed and authoritative topographical maps, supporting accurate geographic data for resource management and land-use planning.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe map prominently features Lexington, Massachusetts, a town with significant historical importance related to the American Revolutionary War.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe cartographic design uses a color scheme typical of mid-20th-century USGS maps.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eContour lines indicate elevation changes, with a systematic grid for navigation.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe map illustrates varying elevations and terrain characteristics, including hills and valleys.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe area has seen substantial changes since 1946, including urban development and shifts in land use impacting the historical landscape.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLooking for a particular place?\u003c\/strong\u003e Review the detailed images to confirm that the town, landmark or feature you have in mind appears on the map. If you are unsure, \u003ca target=\"”_blank”\" href=\"\/es\/pages\/contact-us\"\u003eask our workshop to check before you order\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eDetailed 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis map looks amazing at sizes all the way up to 50in (125cm). If you are looking for a larger map, please \u003ca href=\"\/es\/pages\/contact-us\"\u003eget in touch\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe model in the listing images is holding the 16x20in (40x50cm) version of this map.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhere personalisation is available, you can add a short title or dedication, mark one meaningful place, or request one considered visual detail. \u003ca target=\"”_blank”\" href=\"\/es\/pages\/map-personalisation\"\u003eSee personalised map examples\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eEvery 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWith 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 \u003ca target=\"”_blank”\" href=\"\/es\/collections\/all-old-vintage-antique-maps\"\u003erare old and vintage maps\u003c\/a\u003e to discover another place, period or style.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Unique Maps Co.","offers":[{"title":"12x16in (30x40cm) \/ Map","offer_id":58800789488000,"sku":null,"price":362.0,"currency_code":"CNY","in_stock":true},{"title":"12x16in (30x40cm) \/ Framed map","offer_id":58800789520768,"sku":null,"price":974.0,"currency_code":"CNY","in_stock":true},{"title":"12x16in (30x40cm) \/ Framed canvas map","offer_id":58800789553536,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"CNY","in_stock":true},{"title":"A3 (297x420mm) \/ Map","offer_id":58800789586304,"sku":null,"price":362.0,"currency_code":"CNY","in_stock":true},{"title":"A3 (297x420mm) \/ Framed map","offer_id":58800789619072,"sku":null,"price":974.0,"currency_code":"CNY","in_stock":true},{"title":"A3 (297x420mm) \/ Framed canvas 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