Published in 1945 by the United States Geological Survey, the “Brunswick Quadrangle” captures the intricate coastal geography of southeastern Georgia at a detailed 1:62,500 scale. Centered on Brunswick and its surrounding barrier islands, the map presents Jekyll Island, Sea Island, St. Simons Island, and nearby waterways with the sober precision characteristic of mid-20th-century USGS cartography. Its restrained color scheme distinguishes land from tidal waters, while contour lines and marsh symbols reveal a landscape defined less by dramatic elevation than by subtle relief, shifting shorelines, and watery margins. The result is a finely observed portrait of a low-country coast where river, sound, island, and ocean meet in a complex and beautiful geographical rhythm.

The US Geological Survey had, by the time this map appeared, become the foremost authority on American topographic mapping, producing quadrangles essential to engineers, planners, military authorities, conservationists, and travelers. This sheet reflects that institutional rigor: roads and trails are clearly marked, waterways are carefully traced, and the marshlands are rendered with a level of specificity that speaks to both scientific discipline and practical necessity. In a coastal district such as Brunswick, where navigation, development, and land management depended upon an accurate understanding of tidal terrain, such maps were indispensable. The Brunswick Quadrangle belongs to an era when topographic maps combined field-based observation with elegant cartographic convention, creating documents that remain visually compelling as well as historically informative.

The map’s most striking subject is the braided coastal environment itself. St. Simons Sound and St. Andrew Sound open toward the Atlantic Ocean, while the Brunswick River and Little Satilla River wind through expanses of marsh and lowland. These waters were not merely scenic features; they structured commerce, settlement, transportation, fishing, and defense. The map shows a region where solid ground appears in islands and peninsulas, separated by tidal channels and wetlands that change character with the tide. Marshes dominate much of the surrounding landscape, emphasizing the ecological richness of Georgia’s coast long before modern environmental language became common. In this way, the quadrangle offers both a navigational document and a quiet study of a delicate coastal system.

Jekyll Island, Sea Island, and St. Simons Island each bring a distinctive historical resonance to the sheet. Jekyll Island was already famous for the exclusive Jekyll Island Club, the winter retreat of some of America’s wealthiest industrial families in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Sea Island, developed as a refined resort destination, evokes the leisure culture of the Georgia coast, while St. Simons Island carries older layers of colonial, maritime, and plantation history. Nearby Cumberland Island, also visible in the broader coastal setting, adds another note of barrier-island grandeur. Seen together, these places form a constellation of landscapes shaped by privilege, settlement, commerce, isolation, and the enduring pull of the Atlantic shore.

As a mid-20th-century record, the Brunswick Quadrangle preserves a view of the region before many later transformations in tourism, infrastructure, conservation, and population growth. The roads and trails marked here suggest patterns of movement that have since evolved, while the marshes, shores, and island interiors invite comparison with the modern coast. Brunswick itself appears as the mainland anchor, linked to river systems and sounds that made it a vital coastal town. For collectors and admirers of historical cartography, the map is compelling because it balances exactitude with atmosphere: it is at once a practical USGS survey and an evocative image of Georgia’s barrier-island coast at a particular moment in American geographical understanding.

Cities, towns and places on this map

• Jekyll Island
• Sea Island
• St. Simons Island
• Brunswick
• St. Simons Sound
• Atlantic Ocean
• St. Andrew Sound
• Brunswick River
• Little Satilla River
• Cumberland Island
• Marshes
• Roads and trails marked for navigational guidance

Historical context & cartographic details

• Map title: Brunswick Quadrangle
• Produced by the US Geological Survey as a historical 1:62,500 topographical map of coastal Georgia.
• Date of creation: 1945.
• Published by the US Geological Survey, known for authoritative topographical mapping in the United States.
• Uses a color scheme to differentiate land elevation and water features.
• Detailed contour lines indicate topography and relief, typical of USGS maps from this period.
• Shows elevations and landforms characteristic of Georgia’s coastal geography, including shores and waterways.
• Reflects mid-20th-century geographical understanding of the region, before later changes in land use, development, and population.

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.