1913 U.S. Geological Survey Topographic Map of Long Island

This is a large format 1913 U.S. Geological Survey topographic map of Long Island. Aside from topography, the map provides a clear sense of the growing population and infrastructure of the island when the map was made.

A Closer Look

Coverage extends from the shores of New Jersey and Connecticut in the west to Montauk in the east, taking in New York City, including the western portion of Long Island that became the Boroughs of Queens and Brooklyn at the end of the 19th century. The distinctive topography of the island is immediately apparent, with marshy lowlands on the south side and relatively higher elevations on the north side facing Long Island Sound.

Until the early 20th century, Long Island was sparsely populated farming country, but the growing population of New York City and the ease of travel to the city using railroads or automobiles led to a population boom. Notably, wealthy urbanites built luxurious country estates on the north shore of Long Island, memorably documented in F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. On the southern shore of the island, just into the Borough of Queens, a more plebian class of New Yorkers relaxed at the amusement parks and entertainment venues on Rockaway Beach.

The several lines of the Long Island Railroad formed the backbone of transportation infrastructure between the city and Long Island. The first express roadways for automobiles on Long Island opened in the years just before this map's publication, most notably the Vanderbilt Parkway, privately built by William Kissam Vanderbilt II in 1908 for racing purposes.

By the 1920s and 1930s, a growing bureaucracy was required at the local, county (Nassau and Suffolk), and state level to manage the rapidly changing landscape of Long Island. Among those involved with these efforts was Robert Moses, who began his career as President of the Long Island State Park Commission. Among his greatest impacts on Long Island was the prioritization of automobile parkways, making the suburban sprawl of the mid-20th century possible.

Publication History and Census

This map was prepared by the U.S. Geological Survey and published by Julius Bien, a well-known government and commercial printer based in New York City. In 1914, the geologist Myron L. Fuller and the Geological Survey published a book titled The Geology of Long Island, New York (OCLC 699742538), which is the 'Professional Paper no. 82' referred to at top-right. Both the map, when cataloged independently, and the book are held by a small handful of libraries in North America and Europe.