Published in 1947 from survey data collected that same year, the United States Geological Survey’s “East Hampton” captures a celebrated corner of Long Island at a pivotal moment in its twentieth-century transformation. At the precise 1:24,000 scale, the map presents East Hampton and its surrounding Hamptons landscape with the disciplined clarity that made USGS quadrangles indispensable to planners, engineers, travelers, and historians. Roads thread through settled areas and rural parcels, while ponds, streams, bays, wetlands, and the Atlantic Ocean define the coastal setting. Seen today, the map offers a fascinating portrait of East Hampton before later waves of development intensified its identity as one of America’s most exclusive seaside retreats.

The map’s topographical language is both practical and elegant. Contour lines trace the subtle rises and low coastal landforms of eastern Long Island, revealing a terrain shaped less by dramatic mountains than by glacial deposits, shorelines, marshes, dunes, and gently undulating ground. A color gradient enhances the visualization of elevation and land cover, allowing the eye to move naturally between developed places, open land, water bodies, and wetlands. The result is a map that rewards slow looking: roads and pathways suggest patterns of daily movement, while the surrounding natural features speak to the region’s fragile coastal ecology and long dependence on its waterside geography.

East Hampton itself appears as more than a fashionable name; it is shown as a working settlement embedded in a wider landscape of parcels, lanes, recreational spaces, and shoreline environments. The mapped roads around the town disclose the framework from which modern development would expand, while residential areas and land divisions hint at an evolving balance between village life, agriculture, leisure, and seasonal residence. Nearby ponds, streams, and wetlands add ecological texture, emphasizing the area’s proximity to both sheltered inland waters and the open Atlantic. This is The Hamptons before its later cultural mythology fully hardened, rendered with the sober precision of a government survey.

The United States Geological Survey, founded in the late nineteenth century, became the defining authority for systematic American topographical mapping. Its quadrangles combined field survey, scientific observation, and standardized cartographic design, creating a national visual language for understanding landforms and human settlement. In this “East Hampton” sheet, that tradition is applied to one of New York’s most storied coastal regions. Every contour, road, watercourse, and boundary reflects the USGS ambition to make the nation legible through measured detail. For collectors, this lends the map a particular significance: it is not merely a depiction of a beloved place, but part of a vast scientific enterprise that shaped modern geographic knowledge.

Historically, the 1947 date gives the map special resonance. In the years after the Second World War, Long Island’s eastern communities were on the cusp of major social and spatial change, as improved mobility, rising affluence, and expanding leisure culture brought new attention to coastal retreats. This map preserves East Hampton at that threshold, when its roads, parcels, parks, trails, wetlands, and shorelines still reveal a comparatively quieter landscape. The Atlantic edge, inland ponds, and bays anchor the composition, reminding the viewer that the allure of The Hamptons has always rested on the meeting of village settlement and elemental coastal beauty.

Cities, towns and places on this map

• East Hampton
• Atlantic Ocean
• Roads surrounding East Hampton
• Bays and wetlands
• Land parcels and residential areas
• Parks and recreational areas
• Local trails and pathways
• Notable landmarks in the vicinity
• Ponds and streams

Historical context & cartographic details

• Historical 1:24,000 topographical map of East Hampton and The Hamptons in New York
• Based on survey data collected in 1947 and published with a 1947 imprint
• Made by the United States Geological Survey (USGS)
• Shows East Hampton and surrounding areas within the scenic Hamptons region
• Uses contour lines to indicate elevation changes and terrain
• Employs color gradients to represent topographical variation
• Depicts coastal geography, elevations, landforms, and urban development patterns
• Reflects the pre-modern development of East Hampton and The Hamptons, offering insight into how the area has changed over time

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 18x24in (45x60cm) 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.