The original title, “Fayetteville,” is spare and precise, in the manner of the United States Geological Survey’s great topographic series. Surveyed in 1958 and published with a 1961 imprint, this map captures northwest Arkansas at a revealing mid-century moment, when Fayetteville was both an Ozark market town and an emerging educational center. The University of Arkansas anchors the urban fabric, while red-tinted built-up areas distinguish the city from the surrounding farms, wooded ridges, and open ground. Its 1:24,000 scale gives the landscape an intimate clarity: roads, streams, buildings, contours, and land-use patterns combine to create a richly detailed portrait of Fayetteville before later decades of suburban expansion transformed the region.

The US Geological Survey brought to this map the rigor that made its quadrangles indispensable to engineers, planners, geologists, hikers, and civic authorities. Founded in 1879, the USGS became the nation’s principal scientific mapping agency, translating field surveys into a standardized visual language of contours, symbols, colors, and coordinates. Here, that language is especially expressive: green tones mark vegetated areas, red shading indicates settlement, blue traces waterways, and closely spaced contour lines reveal the folds and rises of the Ozark terrain. Rather than a decorative overview, this is a working map of exceptional discipline, designed to make the land legible—its elevations, drainage, roads, and human occupation all rendered with measured confidence.

Fayetteville’s setting is the true protagonist of the map. The city sits among the western foothills of the Ozark Mountains, where the ground rises and falls in ridges, hollows, and creek valleys. Mount Kessler and Mount Comfort help define the local topography, while waterways such as Spring Creek, Little Mulberry Creek, and the White River system reveal the drainage patterns that shaped settlement and agriculture. Lake Sequoyah appears as an important local water feature, tied to recreation and municipal life. The contours are not merely technical marks; they show why roads bend, why farms occupy certain valleys, and why Fayetteville developed in a landscape both beautiful and physically demanding.

The surrounding towns and crossroads give the map its regional depth. Springdale, Farmington, Johnson, Elkins, Wilson, Wyman, Lowell, Tontitown, and Prairie Grove place Fayetteville within a network of Ozark communities linked by commerce, agriculture, and road travel. US Route 62, Arkansas Highway 112, and Arkansas Highway 45 trace important movement corridors, while the modern I-49 route would later intensify the north-south axis through the region. The notation of greenhouses and nurseries hints at the agricultural and horticultural character of the area, while Cane Hill and Prairie Grove evoke older settlement histories. In this landscape, town, farm, university, and woodland meet in a distinctly Arkansas pattern.

Historically, this map is a valuable snapshot of Fayetteville before the explosive growth of late twentieth-century northwest Arkansas. It preserves the city at a time when the University of Arkansas was expanding its influence, but before metropolitan development blurred the distinctions between Fayetteville, Springdale, and neighboring communities. It also invites comparison with later changes: the growth of transport infrastructure, suburban subdivisions, commercial corridors, and regional recreation around places such as Beaver Lake and the Ozark National Forest. Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park adds a Civil War resonance to the wider area, reminding the viewer that this apparently quiet topographic sheet contains layers of conflict, settlement, education, enterprise, and environmental change.

Cities, towns and places on this map

• Fayetteville
• University of Arkansas
• Springdale
• Wilson
• Elkins
• Prairie Grove
• Farmington
• Johnson
• Beaver Lake
• Ozark National Forest
• White River
• Mount Kessler
• Mount Comfort
• Lake Sequoyah
• I-49 (Interstate 49)
• US Route 62
• AR State Highway 112
• AR State Highway 45
• Spring Creek
• Little Mulberry Creek
• Cane Hill
• Wyman
• Lowell
• Tontitown
• Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park
• Greenhouses and nurseries noted in the area

Historical context & cartographic details

• Produced by the US Geological Survey (USGS), a major American mapping agency known for scientific and spatial information.
• Historical 1:24,000 topographical map of Fayetteville, Arkansas and the surrounding area.
• Dated 1958, with a 1961 imprint.
• Shows Fayetteville during the mid-20th century, offering insight into land use, urban development, and environmental change over time.
• Fayetteville is shown as an important Ozarks center for commerce and education, including the University of Arkansas.
• Uses color coding to depict land features, including green shades for vegetation and red shading for populated areas.
• Features contour lines to show elevation changes, hills, valleys, and the hilly terrain near the Ozark Mountains.

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.