“Monroe” presents the countryside east of Atlanta with the measured elegance of a classic U.S. Geological Survey topographical sheet. Published in 1951 using survey data gathered in 1896, it preserves a late nineteenth-century view of Oxford, Covington, Monroe, Social Circle, Monticello, and the surrounding Georgia Piedmont. Its 1:125,000 scale gives the map both breadth and intimacy: towns are placed within a wider pattern of rivers, roads, railways, creek valleys, and rolling uplands. The contour lines are especially evocative, translating the region’s gentle but persistent relief into a disciplined visual language. Here, the landscape is not merely named, but carefully measured, revealing the physical structure beneath a historically settled and increasingly modernizing part of Georgia.

The U.S. Geological Survey was established in 1879 to bring scientific precision to the mapping of American land, resources, and terrain, and this map reflects that institutional ambition. Unlike decorative county maps or promotional railroad views, “Monroe” belongs to a tradition of exact observation: elevation, drainage, transportation, and settlement are integrated into a coherent geographic record. The USGS style is restrained yet deeply informative, using contour intervals, hydrographic markings, route symbols, and place names to create a layered portrait of the land. In an area where farms, small towns, churches, mills, and transport corridors shaped daily life, the map’s technical clarity becomes historically rich, capturing the region at a moment when older rural patterns met twentieth-century infrastructure.

Oxford, one of the map’s most compelling focal points, carries particular historical resonance. Known for its connection to Emory University, whose origins lie in the town’s nineteenth-century academic and Methodist heritage, Oxford appears here within a broader network of Piedmont communities. Nearby Covington anchors the local urban landscape, while Monroe and Social Circle indicate the importance of market towns in the region’s commercial geography. Roads and railway lines thread between these places, showing how education, agriculture, trade, and mobility were linked across the countryside. The map invites the viewer to imagine Oxford not as an isolated college town, but as part of a living regional system shaped by movement, cultivation, and civic identity.

The natural geography is equally expressive. The Yellow River, Alcovy River, Snapping Shoals Creek, Bay Creek, and Cattle Creek carve the sheet into a lacework of drainage basins, their courses revealing why settlement and travel developed along certain corridors. Lake Varner and the surrounding waterways highlight the importance of water in the local terrain, while named places such as Flat Shoals, Harris Bend, and Glade suggest distinctive landscape features remembered in local speech. Contours disclose the subtle rises and falls of the Georgia Piedmont, a landscape of rounded hills, shallow valleys, and wooded breaks rather than dramatic mountain forms. This careful topographic rendering gives the map a tactile sense of place.

Seen today, “Monroe” offers a fascinating comparison between a surveyed nineteenth-century landscape and the developed Georgia of the modern era. Much of the region around Oxford, Covington, Monroe, and the routes now associated with U.S. Route 78 and State Route 20 has been altered by suburban growth, reservoir development, expanded highways, and changing land use. Yet the underlying geography remains legible: rivers still determine valleys, rail corridors still echo older patterns of movement, and town centers preserve traces of their earlier importance. The map’s power lies in this double vision. It is both a scientific document and a historical window, preserving the shape of a landscape before many of its modern transformations.

Cities, towns and places on this map

• Oxford
• Covington
• Monroe
• Flat Shoals
• Lake Varner
• Yellow River
• Alcovy River
• Snapping Shoals Creek
• Harris Bend
• Glade
• Monticello
• Bay Creek
• Social Circle
• Cattle Creek
• U.S. Route 78
• State Route 20
• Railways
• Parks and forests

Historical context & cartographic details

• Produced by the US Geological Survey as a historical 1:125,000 topographical map of Oxford, Georgia and the surrounding region.
• Based on survey data from 1896 and published with a 1951 imprint.
• The US Geological Survey played a significant role in mapping and surveying the United States.
• Oxford is home to Emory University and is known for its historical significance and scenic beauty.
• Uses classic topographical cartography, including contour lines to show elevation.
• Shows water bodies, road networks, and railway lines.
• Highlights varied elevations across the region, offering insight into the local topography.
• The landscape has likely changed significantly since the original 1896 survey due to urban development and changing land use.

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.