{"product_id":"old-map-of-lafayette-louisiana-by-usgs-1955-vermilion-river-acadiana","title":"Old Map of Lafayette, Louisiana by USGS, 1955 – Vermilion River \u0026 Acadiana","description":"\u003cp\u003ePublished in 1980 from 1955 survey work, the US Geological Survey’s “Lafayette” presents a precise mid-century portrait of one of southern Louisiana’s most culturally resonant cities. At the 1:24,000 scale, the map balances urban detail with the broader geography of bayous, roads, rail lines, and rural margins surrounding Lafayette. This was a period before the city’s later expansion fully reshaped its outskirts, making the sheet especially evocative as a record of land use, transportation, and settlement patterns in the postwar decades. The title itself is spare and authoritative, typical of USGS quadrangle mapping, yet behind that simplicity lies a richly layered view of a city at the heart of Acadiana.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe US Geological Survey brought to this map the disciplined visual language that made its topographic series indispensable to engineers, planners, geologists, and travelers. Roads, waterways, railways, schools, parks, and built-up areas are differentiated through a refined system of line weights, symbols, and color conventions. In a low-relief landscape like Lafayette Parish, subtle contouring becomes especially important: even modest changes in elevation can shape drainage, settlement, and the placement of infrastructure. The map’s grid and careful symbology give the viewer both orientation and texture, transforming an everyday urban landscape into a measured, legible terrain of streets, fields, watercourses, and civic landmarks.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Vermilion River is one of the most important natural features shown, winding through the Lafayette area as both a geographical anchor and a reminder of the region’s deep relationship with water. In southern Louisiana, rivers, coulees, ponds, and low-lying drainage routes are not incidental details; they define movement, agriculture, settlement, and vulnerability. The map records these waterways with the clarity of a scientific document, yet they also evoke the environmental character of Acadiana—humid, fertile, intricate, and historically tied to trade and transportation. Small lakes and ponds, patches of wooded land, and open rural tracts offer a contrast to the denser pattern of roads and neighborhoods around Lafayette itself.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLafayette’s cultural identity gives this topographic sheet an additional historical resonance. Known as a center of Cajun and Creole heritage, the city has long been associated with French-speaking traditions, distinctive cuisine, zydeco and Cajun music, and the social life of south Louisiana’s prairies and bayous. The 1955 landscape shown here predates much of the metropolitan growth that would follow in later decades, when suburban expansion, highway development, and commercial corridors altered the city’s footprint. Streets, residential districts, schools, rail routes, and major roads appear as part of a more compact urban fabric, surrounded by land still visibly rural in character.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs a historical document, “Lafayette” captures a moment when cartography, civic growth, and regional identity intersected. The map is not merely a guide to location; it is evidence of how the city related to its surrounding countryside, how roads connected neighborhoods and outlying settlements, and how water and terrain influenced everyday geography. Its USGS precision invites close reading, while its subject offers an unusually vivid sense of place. For anyone drawn to Louisiana history, urban development, environmental landscapes, or the cartographic elegance of mid-twentieth-century federal mapping, this map offers a compelling view of Lafayette before its modern transformation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eCities, towns and places on this map\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLafayette, Louisiana\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVermilion River\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eParks\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNeighborhoods and residential areas\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMajor roads, highways and streets\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWater bodies, including lakes and ponds\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSchools and landmarks\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRailways and trails\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eForested areas\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSurrounding rural land\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eHistorical context \u0026amp; cartographic details\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eProduced by the US Geological Survey (USGS).\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHistorical 1:24,000 topographical map of Lafayette, Louisiana and the surrounding area.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDated 1955, with a 1980 imprint.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShows Lafayette during a period before later urban growth and land-use changes.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eUses a clear grid layout with line styles and shading to show roads, waterways, elevation changes and landforms.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eProvides detailed terrain information, including elevation levels and waterways.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eServes as a snapshot of Lafayette’s mid-20th-century geographical and infrastructural context.\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=\"\/fr\/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=\"\/fr\/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=\"\/fr\/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=\"\/fr\/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":58764531990912,"sku":null,"price":365.0,"currency_code":"CNY","in_stock":true},{"title":"12x16in (30x40cm) \/ Framed map","offer_id":58764532023680,"sku":null,"price":982.0,"currency_code":"CNY","in_stock":true},{"title":"12x16in (30x40cm) \/ Framed canvas map","offer_id":58764532056448,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"CNY","in_stock":true},{"title":"A3 (297x420mm) \/ Map","offer_id":58764532089216,"sku":null,"price":365.0,"currency_code":"CNY","in_stock":true},{"title":"A3 (297x420mm) \/ Framed map","offer_id":58764532121984,"sku":null,"price":982.0,"currency_code":"CNY","in_stock":true},{"title":"A3 (297x420mm) \/ Framed canvas 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