Published in 1987 by the United States Geological Survey, “New London, New Hampshire” presents a precise topographic portrait of a lakeside New England community at a particular late-twentieth-century moment. Classified as a provisional map, it carries the working authority of federal cartography: measured, systematic, and rich in practical geographic intelligence. At a scale of 1:24,000, the map offers an intimate view of New London and its surroundings, from the clustered settlement patterns of the town itself to the roads, shorelines, wooded slopes, and upland contours that define this part of central New Hampshire. Its title is modest, but the sheet captures a landscape of exceptional regional character, where village, lake, mountain, and forest are rendered through the disciplined language of topography.

The US Geological Survey has long occupied a central place in American mapmaking, combining scientific fieldwork, geodetic control, and public utility into a national cartographic project. Founded in the nineteenth century, the agency became synonymous with the detailed topographic map, a format prized by surveyors, engineers, hikers, planners, historians, and collectors alike. This 1987 New London sheet reflects that tradition: contour lines articulate the rise and fall of the land, roads and pathways trace human movement, and symbols identify significant natural and built features. As a provisional map, it also suggests the mapmaking process in motion, preserving geographic information with an immediacy that gives the sheet both technical value and historical texture.

At the heart of the map is New London, a town known for its elevated setting, educational associations, and proximity to some of New Hampshire’s most attractive lake and hill country. The map situates the populated place within a broader rural framework, showing West New London, nearby Wilmot, and Danbury in relation to the network of roads and landforms that connect them. Rather than isolating the town as a simple dot on a regional plan, the topographic treatment reveals how settlement responds to terrain: roads curve around slopes, habitations gather near accessible routes, and open spaces yield to woods, ridges, and water. The result is a richly legible record of local geography as it stood in 1987.

Pleasant Lake is one of the map’s defining features, its shoreline offering a graceful counterpoint to the angular precision of roads and contour intervals. The lake anchors the surrounding landscape both visually and geographically, suggesting recreation, settlement, drainage, and scenic identity in a single form. Nearby hills and natural features, including Coon Mountain, are expressed through tightly arranged contour lines that convey elevation and relief with elegant economy. These lines give the map its sculptural quality: valleys open, slopes steepen, and high ground emerges not through illustration but through measurement. Forested areas and natural terrain deepen the sense of place, placing New London within the rugged, water-rich environment characteristic of inland New Hampshire.

As a historical document, this map captures New London and its environs at the close of the 1980s, before later decades of development, road alteration, and land-use change further reshaped the region. Its value lies not only in naming places, but in preserving relationships between them: the position of roads, the outline of Pleasant Lake, the contours of hills, and the distribution of wooded and settled land. For those drawn to New Hampshire’s landscapes, it offers a compelling intersection of science and memory. For collectors, it stands as an example of late USGS topographic practice—restrained, authoritative, and quietly beautiful—transforming a familiar local terrain into a finely ordered geographic record.

Cities, towns and places on this map

• New London
• Pleasant Lake
• Wilmot
• Danbury
• West New London
• Coon Mountain
• Various roads and pathways indicated throughout the map
• Nearby forests and natural features

Historical context & cartographic details

• Produced by the US Geological Survey; shows historical data from 1987; classified as a provisional map.
• Created in 1987.
• Published by the US Geological Survey (USGS), a scientific agency of the U.S. government known for mapping and geological studies.
• Employs traditional topographical features, including contour lines to represent elevation changes, a legend for clarity, and specific markers for roads and other significant features.
• Rendered at a scale of 1:24,000, providing detailed topographical features including hills, valleys, water bodies, and roadways.
• Reflects geographical and infrastructural details from 1987, capturing a moment in the developmental history of New London and its surroundings.

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.