Published in 1893 under the original title “Norman,” this US Geological Survey topographical map captures central Oklahoma at a formative moment in its territorial history. Drawn at the detailed 1:62,500 scale, it presents Norman and its surrounding countryside through the precise visual language of early federal mapping: contour lines, section grids, roads, trails, waterways, and measured elevations. The sheet’s “Advance” designation adds particular interest, suggesting a preliminary issue made available as geographic knowledge of the region was still being formalized. At once practical and historical, the map records a landscape only recently transformed by settlement, surveying, and territorial administration, preserving the geometry of land division alongside the older natural forms of hills, valleys, and stream courses.

The US Geological Survey, founded in 1879, was one of the great scientific institutions of the expanding United States, charged with measuring, classifying, and describing the nation’s terrain and natural resources. Its maps were essential tools for engineers, land agents, settlers, railroads, and government officials, but they also created a new visual order for places undergoing rapid change. In this Norman sheet, the USGS brings its disciplined cartographic style to a region where political boundaries, property lines, and infrastructure were still settling into place. The map’s contours and grids are more than technical marks; they reflect the federal ambition to understand the American landscape systematically, translating prairie, valley, and ridge into a coherent framework for settlement and development.

Norman appears as the central focus of the map, with surrounding roads and trails radiating across the surveyed landscape. The nearby terrain is rendered with subtle but informative contouring, revealing low hills, drainage patterns, and minor valleys that shaped movement through the area long before formal roads became established. Waterways and potential stream courses provide a natural counterpoint to the rigid land-survey grid, showing how geography and imposed order met on the Oklahoma plains. The inclusion of Purcell in the inset is especially evocative, connecting Norman to a broader regional network along the Canadian River corridor. Together, these details suggest a place defined by mobility, land claims, agricultural promise, and emerging town life.

The date of 1893 places the map in the early years of Oklahoma Territory, before statehood and soon after the dramatic land openings that brought waves of non-Indigenous settlement to the region. Norman itself had grown rapidly after the Land Run of 1889, and the University of Oklahoma, founded in 1890, was still a young institution when this sheet was made. The map therefore documents not a settled state, but a landscape in transition: former Native lands reorganized through federal policy, townsites emerging, roads being traced, and parcels arranged for ownership and cultivation. Its orderly sections and township lines embody the late nineteenth-century transformation of territory into mapped, administered, and marketable land.

Cartographically, “Norman” has the restrained elegance characteristic of early USGS topographic work. Its beauty lies in exactness: fine contour lines model the rise and fall of the land, while roads, trails, section lines, settlements, and waterways are balanced in a clear hierarchy of information. Unlike more decorative nineteenth-century maps, this sheet derives its authority from observation and measurement, yet it remains visually compelling for the same reason. It allows the viewer to read the Oklahoma landscape as both physical terrain and historical document. Hills and valleys speak to natural geography; grids and routes speak to human ambition. The result is a refined record of a region at the threshold of modern Oklahoma history.

Cities, towns and places on this map

• Norman, Oklahoma
• Purcell, Oklahoma, noted in the inset
• Minor valleys and hills indicated by contour lines
• Roads and trails connecting the area
• Nearby rivers and potential waterways
• Land parcels, sections, and grid layout indicative of land surveys
• Geographic elevations and distances

Historical context & cartographic details

• Produced by the US Geological Survey (USGS)
• Historical 1:62,500 topographical map dated 1893
• Shows Norman, Oklahoma and the surrounding area
• Marked with the special feature “advance”
• Uses a topographical style with contour lines to indicate elevation changes
• Reflects the varied terrain of the Norman area, including hills and valleys
• Provides insight into Oklahoma’s late 19th-century geography during a period of settlement and development
• Represents the USGS tradition of detailed mapping for navigation, land management, and resource assessment

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.