Rare Old Map of Ashland, Nebraska by USGS, 1968: Platte River & Melia
Restored in our London workshop from the original 1973 map and printed to museum-grade archival standards. Full description
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Choose two eligible works and receive 20% off both. Choose three and the lowest-priced one is complimentary, a maximum saving of 33%.
Mix and match eligible standard maps and fine-art prints. No code is required; the offer is applied automatically at checkout.
Standard made-to-order configurations are included. Bespoke sizes, personalised designs and commissioned work are excluded.
Need delivery to different addresses? Contact us before ordering.The Collector’s Offer
Choose two eligible works and receive 20% off both. Choose three and the lowest-priced one is complimentary, a maximum saving of 33%.
Mix and match eligible standard maps and fine-art prints. No code is required; the offer is applied automatically at checkout.
Standard made-to-order configurations are included. Bespoke sizes, personalised designs and commissioned work are excluded.
Need delivery to different addresses? Contact us before ordering.
Restored from the original 1973 map and printed to museum-grade archival standards. Full description
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Gift message & custom finish
If you want to add a gift message, or a finish (jigsaw, aluminium board, etc.) that is not available here, please request it in the "order note" when you check out.
Every order is custom made, so if you need the size adjusted slightly, or printed on an unusual material, just let us know. We've done thousands of custom orders over the years, so there's (almost) nothing we can't manage.
You can also contact us before you order, if you prefer!
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The original title, “Ashland East,” identifies this 1:24,000 United States Geological Survey quadrangle devoted to Ashland, Nebraska, and its immediate surroundings. Dated...
Continue readingThe original title, “Ashland East,” identifies this 1:24,000 United States Geological Survey quadrangle devoted to Ashland, Nebraska, and its immediate surroundings. Dated 1968 and carrying a 1973 imprint, it presents the landscape with the authority and restraint characteristic of mid-century federal cartography. The map captures Ashland at a moment before many later patterns of suburban expansion, highway improvement, and land-use change had fully reshaped the Platte River country. Here, a compact Nebraska town is set within a measured grid of roads, fields, drainage features, rail lines, and contour-marked terrain. Its value lies not only in geographic precision, but in its ability to preserve a late-1960s portrait of a working Midwestern landscape.
Produced by the United States Geological Survey, the map belongs to one of America’s most respected cartographic traditions. The USGS 7.5-minute quadrangle series was designed to provide dependable, standardized knowledge of the nation’s terrain for engineers, planners, scientists, land managers, and the public. In “Ashland East,” that institutional clarity is evident in every convention: contour lines articulate elevation, blue hydrography traces watercourses and ditches, red symbols identify roads and paths, and the regular section grid reflects the legacy of public land survey organization. The result is a map both technical and elegant, turning practical geographic data into a disciplined visual record of place.
The Platte River is the dominant natural presence on the map, lending the quadrangle its broad lowland character and ecological significance. One of the great rivers of the central Great Plains, the Platte is famous for its wide, shallow, shifting channels and its importance to wildlife, agriculture, and human movement across Nebraska. Around Ashland, the river corridor creates a landscape of floodplain, terraces, and subtle elevation changes, all rendered through the careful language of contour lines. Ditches and drainage features hint at the management of water across cultivated land, while the mapped relief reveals how even modest changes in height shape roads, settlement, and field patterns.
Ashland itself appears as the principal populated place, its streets and connecting routes set into the larger agricultural framework of eastern Nebraska. Nearby Melia is also shown, a smaller named place that helps anchor the rural geography of the quadrangle. Railroad tracks cut across the mapped area, reminding the viewer that Ashland’s development was tied not only to river and road, but also to the rail networks that organized commerce and settlement throughout the Plains. The numerous gridded land sections speak to survey, ownership, and cultivation, presenting the countryside as both natural terrain and human project—measured, divided, traversed, and worked over generations.
As a historical document, “Ashland East” is especially compelling for comparison with the present. Its roads, rail lines, field boundaries, waterways, and settlement patterns preserve a precise record of the area in the late 1960s, before subsequent decades altered the rhythms of travel, agriculture, and development around Ashland. The map’s classic topographical design rewards close study: each contour interval, route symbol, and water feature contributes to an integrated understanding of the land. It is a portrait of Nebraska not as abstraction, but as lived terrain—river valley, town, farm country, infrastructure, and surveyed order brought together in the unmistakable visual language of the USGS.
Cities, towns and places on this map
- Ashland, Nebraska
- Melia, Nebraska
- Platte River
- Ditch
- Railroad tracks
- Nearby roads and paths
- Numerous sections of land marked by grid squares
Historical context & cartographic details
- Produced by the United States Geological Survey (USGS)
- Historical 1:24,000 topographical map of Ashland, Nebraska and the surrounding area
- Dated 1968 with a 1973 imprint
- Shows the area as it appeared in the late 1960s
- Useful for comparing historical land use, infrastructure, and development with the modern landscape
- Classic USGS topographical design with contour lines and shaded relief
- Depicts landforms, water bodies, infrastructure, elevation changes, valleys, and rivers
- Includes contour lines indicating changes in elevation and terrain 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.
The original title, “Ashland East,” identifies this 1:24,000 United States Geological Survey quadrangle devoted to Ashland, Nebraska, and its immediate surroundings. Dated 1968 and carrying a 1973 imprint, it presents the landscape with the authority and restraint characteristic of mid-century federal cartography. The map captures Ashland at a moment before many later patterns of suburban expansion, highway improvement, and land-use change had fully reshaped the Platte River country. Here, a compact Nebraska town is set within a measured grid of roads, fields, drainage features, rail lines, and contour-marked terrain. Its value lies not only in geographic precision, but in its ability to preserve a late-1960s portrait of a working Midwestern landscape.
Produced by the United States Geological Survey, the map belongs to one of America’s most respected cartographic traditions. The USGS 7.5-minute quadrangle series was designed to provide dependable, standardized knowledge of the nation’s terrain for engineers, planners, scientists, land managers, and the public. In “Ashland East,” that institutional clarity is evident in every convention: contour lines articulate elevation, blue hydrography traces watercourses and ditches, red symbols identify roads and paths, and the regular section grid reflects the legacy of public land survey organization. The result is a map both technical and elegant, turning practical geographic data into a disciplined visual record of place.
The Platte River is the dominant natural presence on the map, lending the quadrangle its broad lowland character and ecological significance. One of the great rivers of the central Great Plains, the Platte is famous for its wide, shallow, shifting channels and its importance to wildlife, agriculture, and human movement across Nebraska. Around Ashland, the river corridor creates a landscape of floodplain, terraces, and subtle elevation changes, all rendered through the careful language of contour lines. Ditches and drainage features hint at the management of water across cultivated land, while the mapped relief reveals how even modest changes in height shape roads, settlement, and field patterns.
Ashland itself appears as the principal populated place, its streets and connecting routes set into the larger agricultural framework of eastern Nebraska. Nearby Melia is also shown, a smaller named place that helps anchor the rural geography of the quadrangle. Railroad tracks cut across the mapped area, reminding the viewer that Ashland’s development was tied not only to river and road, but also to the rail networks that organized commerce and settlement throughout the Plains. The numerous gridded land sections speak to survey, ownership, and cultivation, presenting the countryside as both natural terrain and human project—measured, divided, traversed, and worked over generations.
As a historical document, “Ashland East” is especially compelling for comparison with the present. Its roads, rail lines, field boundaries, waterways, and settlement patterns preserve a precise record of the area in the late 1960s, before subsequent decades altered the rhythms of travel, agriculture, and development around Ashland. The map’s classic topographical design rewards close study: each contour interval, route symbol, and water feature contributes to an integrated understanding of the land. It is a portrait of Nebraska not as abstraction, but as lived terrain—river valley, town, farm country, infrastructure, and surveyed order brought together in the unmistakable visual language of the USGS.
Cities, towns and places on this map
- Ashland, Nebraska
- Melia, Nebraska
- Platte River
- Ditch
- Railroad tracks
- Nearby roads and paths
- Numerous sections of land marked by grid squares
Historical context & cartographic details
- Produced by the United States Geological Survey (USGS)
- Historical 1:24,000 topographical map of Ashland, Nebraska and the surrounding area
- Dated 1968 with a 1973 imprint
- Shows the area as it appeared in the late 1960s
- Useful for comparing historical land use, infrastructure, and development with the modern landscape
- Classic USGS topographical design with contour lines and shaded relief
- Depicts landforms, water bodies, infrastructure, elevation changes, valleys, and rivers
- Includes contour lines indicating changes in elevation and terrain 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.
Many of our maps and art prints are chosen as thoughtful gifts for homes, offices, studies and meaningful places.
Choose a framed option for the easiest ready-to-hang gift, or choose an unframed print if the recipient may prefer to select their own frame.
We make orders locally in 23 countries around the world, so gifts can often be produced close to the recipient. This helps them arrive faster, travel more safely, and avoid customs or import duty surprises.
- We can deliver directly to the recipient
- Framed pieces arrive ready to hang
- Unframed prints are carefully packed in a strong protective tube
- Almost every order is made locally, for faster, safer gifting
- 90-day returns give the recipient time to decide
If you are not sure what to choose, please contact us. We can help you pick the right map, size, finish or delivery option.
Most orders are made locally and delivered in around 2–3 working days, depending on the product, size and destination.
We print and frame maps and artwork in 23 countries around the world, so your order is usually made close to you or your recipient. That means faster delivery, less time in transit, and no customs or import duty surprises.
Personalised and customised pieces usually take an extra 1–2 working days, because we prepare your design and send it to you for approval before printing.
Very large framed orders can take a little longer, as they need extra care in production and delivery.
Every order is carefully packaged: unframed prints are sent in a strong protective tube, while framed pieces are securely packed with protective materials around the frame.
If you need your order by a particular date, please contact us before ordering. We’ll check the best production route and delivery option for your location.
Express delivery is available at checkout for most countries. Next-day delivery is available in the UK, US, Singapore and the UAE.
Your order is covered by our 90-day returns policy and 10-year guarantee.
Our standard frame is a gallery-style black ash hardwood frame, with a simple, modern look. It is approximately 20mm (0.8in) wide. You can also view some lovely customer photos of framed maps and art.
We use super-clear acrylic glazing, also known as Perspex or Acrylite, instead of traditional glass. It is lighter, safer, and has lower reflectivity, giving the artwork a clearer, cleaner appearance.
Six standard frame colours are available at no extra cost: black, dark brown, dark grey, oak, white, and antique gold. Custom framing and mounting/matting is also available for customers looking for something more specific.
Most maps, art prints, and illustrations are also available as a framed canvas. We use matte cotton canvas, stretch it over a sustainably sourced wooden box frame, and then float the piece within a wooden outer frame. The finished result is beautifully presented, with no glazing between you and the artwork.
All frames are supplied ready to hang, with either string or brackets fitted to the back. Very large frames will include heavy-duty hanging plates and/or a mounting baton. If you have any questions, please get in touch.
We can also supply old maps and artwork on canvas, foam board, cotton rag, and other materials.
If you would prefer to frame your map or artwork yourself, please read our size guide before ordering.
Every Unique Maps piece begins with an authentic cartographic source or an original design from our London studio.
For our historic maps, we source rare originals from libraries, archives, auction houses and private collections around the world. We carefully restore each map for print—repairing age-related damage, balancing colour and improving clarity while preserving its original detail, texture and character.
Once restored, the map is prepared for your chosen size and finish. Your piece is then printed and, where selected, framed close to its delivery destination.
Our map prints use acid-free 200gsm archival matte paper and fade-resistant pigment inks, creating a rich, non-glossy finish designed to last. Framed maps use crystal-clear optical acrylic and arrive ready to hang.
Canvas, cotton-rag and other specialist presentations are also available. Learn more about our materials and finishes.
Personalising your map
You can add a short title or dedication, mark one meaningful place, or request one considered visual detail. For personalised designs, we send a proof before printing and you can request changes before approval.
For more complex bespoke commissions, contact our design team.
Original or Aged
Choose Original for true-to-source colour, or Aged for a warmer, richer antique character created with our specialist ageing process. See examples of our Aged maps.
We’ve been restoring and producing maps and art prints since 1984, and we stand behind every piece.
Every order is covered by our 10-year guarantee and damage-free delivery guarantee. If your piece arrives damaged, we’ll replace or remake it free of charge. If anything else isn’t right, contact our workshop team and we’ll put it right promptly.
See our returns and refund policy for full details.
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