{"product_id":"old-map-of-donaldsonville-louisiana-by-usgs-1947-mississippi-river-bayou-lafourche","title":"Old Map of Donaldsonville, Louisiana by USGS, 1947 – Mississippi River \u0026 Bayou Lafourche","description":"\u003cp\u003e“Donaldsonville,” produced by the U.S. Geological Survey in 1947 using survey data from that year, presents a precise mid-twentieth-century portrait of one of Louisiana’s most historically resonant river towns. Classified as an Advance and Planimetric map, it emphasizes the arrangement of roads, waterways, settlements, plantations, and reference grids with the disciplined clarity for which the USGS became famous. At its center is Donaldsonville, positioned near the great bend of the Mississippi River and the head of Bayou Lafourche, a location that shaped the town’s commercial, agricultural, and political importance. The map captures a landscape where natural watercourses and human settlement are inseparable, revealing the geometry of river country at a moment of postwar transition.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe U.S. Geological Survey brought to this map the authority of an institution that had, since the late nineteenth century, transformed American cartography through systematic fieldwork and standardized design. Its maps were created not merely for orientation, but for administration, engineering, land management, and civic planning. The grid lines, annotations, elevation points, and careful symbolization seen here reflect that scientific purpose. As an Advance and Planimetric sheet, this map has a particularly practical character: it records the essential framework of place with a crisp focus on cultural and hydrographic features. Roads, waterways, settlement patterns, and named locations are rendered as part of an ordered visual system, making the map both elegant and deeply functional.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe geography shown is dominated by the Mississippi River, whose broad course defines the region’s history as much as its physical form. Around Donaldsonville, the river’s presence suggests a world shaped by alluvial soils, levees, drainage, periodic flood anxiety, and the constant negotiation between settlement and water. Bayou Lafourche, branching from the Mississippi, adds another historically significant artery, once vital to transportation, agriculture, and regional identity. The surrounding terrain, marked by subtle elevation references and land-cover indications, evokes the low relief of south Louisiana, where even modest changes in height could matter profoundly. In this setting, cartographic precision becomes a way of reading vulnerability, productivity, and human adaptation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDonaldsonville itself carries an unusually rich history for a town of its scale. It served briefly as Louisiana’s capital in the nineteenth century and developed as a significant river port in a region shaped by sugar cultivation, plantation economies, and Creole culture. Nearby names such as Belle Alliance speak to the plantation landscape that once structured social and economic life along the Mississippi corridor. By 1947, the map records a different but connected world: one marked by modern roads, surveyed boundaries, changing land use, and the lingering imprint of older estates and waterways. It is a document of continuity and change, where antebellum geography meets the infrastructure of the modern American South.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs a historical object, this map offers a compelling snapshot of Louisiana before later decades of industrial expansion, highway development, suburban growth, and intensified water-control projects altered the region further. Its restrained USGS design gives the landscape a quiet authority: towns, bayous, roads, fields, and river margins are presented without ornament, allowing the structure of the place to speak for itself. The result is a map of exceptional documentary value, especially for those interested in the Mississippi River, Louisiana settlement, agricultural history, or the evolution of postwar land use. “Donaldsonville” preserves a moment when this riverine landscape was carefully measured, named, and fixed in cartographic form.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eCities, towns and places on this map\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDonaldsonville\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMississippi River\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBayou Lafourche\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBelle Alliance\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSurrounding plantations and natural features\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSurvey grid references and elevation points\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eHistorical context \u0026amp; cartographic details\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eProduced by the US Geological Survey\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCreated using survey data from 1947\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eClassified under Advance and Planimetric map categories\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShows Donaldsonville, Louisiana, and surrounding areas influenced by the Mississippi River\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFeatures typical USGS cartographic styling, including contour lines and land-cover shading\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIncludes grid lines, annotations, and numeric elevation points for precise reference\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eReflects regional topography and natural features around the Mississippi River\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMay help illustrate changes in land use, water management, and urban development since 1947\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLooking for a particular place?\u003c\/strong\u003e Review the detailed images to confirm that the town, landmark or feature you have in mind appears on the map. If you are unsure, \u003ca target=\"”_blank”\" href=\"\/fr\/pages\/contact-us\"\u003eask our workshop to check before you order\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eDetailed 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis map looks amazing at sizes all the way up to 50in (125cm). If you are looking for a larger map, please \u003ca href=\"\/fr\/pages\/contact-us\"\u003eget in touch\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe model in the listing images is holding the 16x20in (40x50cm) version of this map.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhere personalisation is available, you can add a short title or dedication, mark one meaningful place, or request one considered visual detail. \u003ca target=\"”_blank”\" href=\"\/fr\/pages\/map-personalisation\"\u003eSee personalised map examples\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eEvery 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWith 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 \u003ca target=\"”_blank”\" href=\"\/fr\/collections\/all-old-vintage-antique-maps\"\u003erare old and vintage maps\u003c\/a\u003e to discover another place, period or style.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Unique Maps Co.","offers":[{"title":"12x16in (30x40cm) \/ Map","offer_id":59906616885632,"sku":null,"price":75.0,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true},{"title":"12x16in (30x40cm) \/ Framed map","offer_id":59906616918400,"sku":null,"price":201.0,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true},{"title":"12x16in (30x40cm) \/ Framed canvas map","offer_id":59906616951168,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true},{"title":"A3 (297x420mm) \/ Map","offer_id":59906616983936,"sku":null,"price":75.0,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true},{"title":"A3 (297x420mm) \/ Framed map","offer_id":59906617016704,"sku":null,"price":201.0,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true},{"title":"A3 (297x420mm) \/ Framed canvas 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