Published in 1965 from survey work conducted in 1963, the USGS topographic map titled “Knox” captures Easton, Pennsylvania, and its surrounding river country at a moment of mid-twentieth-century transition. Drawn at the exacting 1:24,000 scale, it belongs to the classic generation of United States Geological Survey quadrangles prized for their precision and quiet visual authority. Easton appears within a landscape shaped by water, roads, wooded slopes, and settlement, where the measured language of contours reveals the underlying structure of the terrain. The map is both technical document and historical portrait, preserving the arrangement of streets, highways, parks, and open land as they stood in the 1960s, before later waves of suburban expansion and infrastructure change altered the region.

Easton’s importance is inseparable from its position at the meeting of the Delaware and Lehigh Rivers, one of eastern Pennsylvania’s most consequential natural junctions. The Delaware forms a defining corridor, historically linking interior communities with larger commercial networks, while the Lehigh carried coal, industry, and trade through the valleys of Pennsylvania. On this map, these waterways are not merely geographic features but organizing forces, explaining the placement of roads, neighborhoods, crossings, and industrial development. Easton’s Revolutionary War associations add further resonance: it was one of the places where the Declaration of Independence was publicly read in 1776, and its riverfront setting made it strategically significant in the young nation’s geography of movement, communication, and defense.

The cartographic style is unmistakably USGS: disciplined, legible, and rich with information. Brown contour lines describe the rise and fall of the land with remarkable subtlety, translating hills, valleys, and slopes into an elegant visual grammar. Green shading marks wooded areas and parks, while blue waterways cut through the sheet with crisp authority. Roads and highways form a contrasting network of human movement, threading through the topographic forms rather than overwhelming them. This combination of scientific clarity and restrained design is what gives mid-century USGS maps their enduring appeal: they invite both close technical reading and broader contemplation of how settlement adapts to landforms, rivers, and routes.

The terrain around Easton is varied and expressive, with river valleys giving way to uplands, wooded tracts, and local elevation peaks. The confluence of the Delaware and Lehigh creates a natural focal point, while the surrounding contours suggest the hilly character of the region. Valleys guide transportation corridors, and higher ground frames the urban and semi-rural landscape. Such details make the map especially evocative for anyone interested in the relationship between geology, settlement, and infrastructure. The roads and highways shown reflect the mobility patterns of the early 1960s, while parks and vegetated areas reveal pockets of natural landscape preserved within an increasingly developed corridor of eastern Pennsylvania.

Produced by the United States Geological Survey, this map reflects the agency’s long-standing mission to document the nation’s physical landscape with scientific accuracy. By the 1960s, USGS quadrangles had become essential tools for planners, engineers, hikers, historians, and local governments, offering a standardized yet deeply place-specific record of American terrain. The “Knox” sheet is particularly compelling because it records Easton and its environs during a period when older industrial and river-based patterns coexisted with modern highways and expanding suburban development. As a historical document, it allows today’s viewer to trace changes in land use, transportation, and vegetation over decades, while still appreciating the enduring geography of rivers, ridges, and valleys that shaped the region long before the map was made.

Cities, towns and places on this map

• Easton, Pennsylvania
• Delaware River
• Lehigh River
• Roads and highways
• Parks and wooded areas
• Nearby valleys and elevation peaks

Historical context & cartographic details

• Historical 1:24,000 topographical map portraying Easton, Pennsylvania, and its surroundings
• Based on survey data from 1963 and published with a 1965 imprint
• Produced by the US Geological Survey (USGS)
• Easton is noted for its strategic location at the confluence of the Delaware and Lehigh Rivers
• Easton has historical significance connected to the American Revolutionary War
• Features detailed contour lines to show elevation changes
• Uses typical USGS topographic styling, including green shading for vegetation and brown for higher elevations
• Reflects the landscape as it appeared in the 1960s, offering insight into later changes in urban development and natural landscapes

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.