Titled simply “Ocean Springs,” this United States Geological Survey map presents the Mississippi Gulf Coast at a detailed 1:24,000 scale, created from 1954 mapping and issued with a 1958 imprint. It captures Ocean Springs and its surrounding coastal terrain at a moment when the town still balanced small-city life, maritime character, and the natural rhythms of bayou and marsh. The map’s clean USGS style gives equal authority to settlement, infrastructure, and landscape: roads and railways thread through neighborhoods, while blue waterways and carefully drawn contours reveal the low, intricate geography of the Gulf Coast. As a mid-century document, it offers a precise view of land use before later waves of development reshaped many coastal communities.

The mapmaker, the United States Geological Survey, brought to this sheet the scientific discipline that made its topographic maps indispensable for engineers, planners, travelers, and historians. Founded in the nineteenth century to study the nation’s geology, resources, and terrain, the USGS became the standard-bearer for systematic mapping in the United States. Here, its characteristic visual language is on full display: measured contour intervals, clear hydrographic detail, classified roads, rail lines, and symbols for built features. The result is not merely a navigational tool, but a finely organized portrait of place. Every line reflects the agency’s mission to describe the American landscape with accuracy, usefulness, and understated elegance.

Ocean Springs itself gives the map particular cultural resonance. Long associated with historic architecture, coastal resort life, and a lively arts tradition, the town occupies a distinctive position along Mississippi’s shoreline, facing Biloxi Bay and connected to a network of bayous, roads, and neighboring communities. On this sheet, the urban fabric appears in measured detail, with residential and commercial areas set against open land, marsh, and water. The map evokes a period before contemporary expansion fully transformed the Gulf Coast, making it especially valuable for understanding mid-twentieth-century settlement patterns. It shows Ocean Springs not as an isolated town, but as part of a broader coastal system shaped by water, transportation, and local industry.

The physical geography is especially compelling. Davis Bayou, Fort Bayou, Biloxi Bay, and the Back Bay of Biloxi form a complex watery framework around the mapped area, reminding the viewer how deeply coastal Mississippi is defined by estuaries, wetlands, and tidal margins. Blue washes and channel lines articulate lakes, rivers, marshes, and bayous, while the subtle contouring records the modest but meaningful elevation changes of a low coastal landscape. Inland, the presence of De Soto National Forest situates Ocean Springs within a larger ecological setting, where pine lands and wetland environments meet the developed coast. The map is therefore as much an environmental record as a civic one.

As a historical object, this map invites comparison between the Ocean Springs of the 1950s and the Gulf Coast of today. Roads, railways, parklands, neighborhoods, and undeveloped tracts together reveal patterns of movement and land use before decades of suburban growth, infrastructure change, storm impact, and environmental pressure. Its topographic detail makes visible both the resilience and vulnerability of the region: marshes, bayous, and low-lying coastal edges appear not as background features, but as defining elements of everyday geography. For collectors, historians, and admirers of the Mississippi coast, “Ocean Springs” offers a richly informative snapshot of a beloved coastal community at a pivotal mid-century moment.

Cities, towns and places on this map

• Ocean Springs
• Davis Bayou
• Biloxi Bay
• De Soto National Forest
• Back Bay of Biloxi
• Fort Bayou
• Roads and railways marked for navigation
• Parks and recreational areas
• Bodies of water, including lakes, marshes, and rivers
• Residential neighborhoods and commercial areas depicted in urban sections

Historical context & cartographic details

• Historical 1:24,000 topographical map of Ocean Springs, Mississippi, and the surrounding area
• Created in 1954 with a 1958 imprint
• Published by the United States Geological Survey (USGS)
• The USGS is a scientific agency of the U.S. government known for providing reliable information about the Earth, natural resources, and the environment
• Shows Ocean Springs and surrounding coastal and inland regions
• Ocean Springs is known for its historic architecture and vibrant arts scene
• Uses color coding, including green for land elevations and blue for water bodies
• Features distinct lines for roads and railways
• Contour lines show changes in terrain and elevation
• Highlights coastal geography and wetland areas typical of Mississippi
• Provides insight into mid-20th-century land use and geographic features
• Useful for observing later changes such as urban development, shifting land use, and alterations to natural features

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.