Titled “Martha’s Vineyard,” this elegant US Geological Survey map was published in 1904 using survey data gathered in 1894, preserving the island at a fascinating moment between maritime tradition and modern resort culture. Drawn at the authoritative 1:62,500 scale, it presents Edgartown, Oak Bluffs, Vineyard Haven, and the surrounding coastal waters with the clarity and precision for which the USGS became renowned. The map captures Martha’s Vineyard before the full force of twentieth-century development transformed its roads, shorelines, and summer settlements. Its careful topographic language makes it both a scientific document and a historical portrait: an island of harbors, ponds, beaches, farms, woodlands, and villages, poised between its working past and its leisure-bound future.

The cartography is characteristically refined, using color-coded topographic lines and a 20-foot contour interval to reveal the island’s subtle but varied terrain. Martha’s Vineyard is not a land of dramatic peaks, yet the map’s contours give form to its rolling uplands, sandy margins, low coastal plains, and interior rises. Beaches, ponds, coves, and inlets are delineated with particular care, emphasizing the island’s intimate relationship with water. Tisbury Great Pond, Sengekontacket Pond, Menemsha Pond, Katama Bay, Josephs Cove, and Herring Creek stand out as defining features of the landscape. The result is a map that rewards close study, translating a seemingly gentle island into a nuanced topographical composition.

Edgartown anchors the eastern portion of the map, recalling its nineteenth-century prominence as a prosperous whaling port whose captains’ houses and maritime institutions shaped the town’s enduring character. Nearby Chappaquiddick Island, Cape Poge, East Pasture, Katama Bay, and South Beach form a finely articulated coastal world of barrier beaches, tidal waters, and exposed Atlantic edges. Oak Bluffs appears to the north, already associated with summer leisure, religious camp meetings, and the distinctive gingerbread cottages that made it one of New England’s most visually memorable resort communities. Vineyard Haven, meanwhile, occupies its vital harbor position on Vineyard Sound, long serving as a maritime gateway for ferries, trade, and island movement.

The western and interior portions of the map offer a quieter, more rural Martha’s Vineyard, with West Tisbury, North Tisbury, Southern Woodlands, Farm Neck, Smith’s Point, and Leland Avenue marking a landscape of roads, farms, forests, and scattered settlement. The contrast between Atlantic-facing beaches and the sheltered waters of Vineyard Sound is especially compelling, showing how geography shaped both livelihoods and patterns of habitation. Norton Point and South Beach evoke the island’s shifting sandy margins, while the ponds and creeks hint at ecological richness and centuries of fishing, shellfishing, and coastal adaptation. The map’s restrained precision allows these features to emerge as a connected island system rather than isolated landmarks.

As a historical document, this USGS sheet offers a rare snapshot of Martha’s Vineyard over a century ago, before automobile tourism, expanding seasonal estates, and later conservation efforts altered the island’s appearance and identity. It records settlement patterns, road networks, shore forms, and place names at a time when coastal Massachusetts was changing rapidly. The authority of the US Geological Survey lends the map both technical credibility and quiet beauty, reflecting a national project to measure and understand the American landscape in exacting detail. For Martha’s Vineyard, the result is especially evocative: a portrait of a celebrated island when its whaling legacy, resort culture, rural interior, and dynamic coast all coexisted in delicate balance.

Cities, towns and places on this map

• Edgartown
• Oak Bluffs
• Vineyard Haven
• Martha's Vineyard
• Tisbury Great Pond
• Sengekontacket Pond
• Farm Neck
• Katama Bay
• Herring Creek
• Norton Point
• Josephs Cove
• West Tisbury
• Chappaquiddick Island
• East Pasture
• South Beach
• Vineyard Sound
• Atlantic Ocean
• Menemsha Pond
• North Tisbury
• Cape Poge
• Southern Woodlands
• Smith's Point
• Leland Avenue

Historical context & cartographic details

• Produced by the US Geological Survey, this historical 1:62,500 topographical map shows Martha's Vineyard and the surrounding area in Massachusetts.
• The map is based on survey data from 1894 and carries a 1904 imprint.
• Published by the US Geological Survey, known for detailed and authoritative topographic mapping across the United States.
• Edgartown is recognized for its historical architecture and its past as a whaling port.
• Oak Bluffs is known for its vibrant gingerbread cottages and as a summer resort destination.
• The map features clear, color-coded topographic lines to indicate elevation, with coastal details shown distinctly.
• A 20-foot contour interval illustrates the varied landscape of Martha's Vineyard, including hills, beaches, and bodies of water.
• The map provides a snapshot of Martha's Vineyard over a century ago, reflecting changes in population, land use, and coastal development 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 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.