Published in 1943 under the title “Warwick Quadrangle,” this United States Geological Survey topographical map presents Warwick, New York, and its neighboring uplands at the precise scale of 1:31,680. It belongs to the great USGS tradition of quadrangle mapping: systematic, rigorous, and intended to translate the American landscape into a legible scientific record. Here, the rural communities, roadways, rail lines, lakes, ridges, and wooded slopes of the Warwick region are rendered with an understated authority characteristic of mid-twentieth-century federal cartography. Created during the Second World War, the map captures the area before the full force of postwar suburban expansion, preserving a portrait of Orange County and adjacent highland country at a moment of transition.

Warwick itself anchors the composition, surrounded by a constellation of smaller settlements and local landmarks including Florida, Chester, East Chester, Mount Peter, and the Waughaw Valley. The map’s value lies not simply in naming these places, but in showing how they relate to the land beneath them: roads bending around hills, railways threading through valleys, and settlements gathering where terrain permits. The black linework of transportation and habitation contrasts with the measured contouring of the terrain, allowing the viewer to read both human movement and geological form at once. In this way, the Warwick Quadrangle becomes a quiet study of rural infrastructure, showing a landscape shaped by agriculture, travel, village life, and the constraints of elevation.

The topographic character of the map is especially compelling. Contour lines describe the rise and fall of the land with mathematical elegance, revealing the hilly terrain that defines this part of southern New York and the adjoining highlands. Mount Peter and nearby ridges stand out through their dense contouring, while valleys open more gently across the sheet. Water features, including Greenwood Lake, Wickham Lake, Upper Greenwood Lake, and Monksville Reservoir, add another layer of geographic drama. These lakes and reservoirs are not decorative additions, but essential parts of the regional landscape, shaping settlement, recreation, drainage, and movement. The result is a richly textured view of a countryside where hills, water, forest, and roads are inseparably connected.

As a work of the United States Geological Survey, the map reflects an institutional commitment to accuracy, standardization, and practical beauty. Founded in 1879, the USGS transformed American mapmaking by producing consistent topographic coverage of the nation, useful to engineers, planners, scientists, hikers, military authorities, and local governments alike. Its visual language is restrained but highly expressive: contours for elevation, blue for water, green for wooded or vegetated areas, and black for roads, railways, buildings, and boundaries. In the Warwick Quadrangle, that system creates a map that is both utilitarian and aesthetically refined. Every line has a purpose, yet the cumulative effect is intricate, balanced, and unexpectedly elegant.

Historically, the 1943 Warwick Quadrangle offers a valuable record of a region on the cusp of modern change. In the decades after its publication, improved highways, changing patterns of commuting, suburban growth, recreational development, and shifts in agriculture altered the character of the Warwick area and its neighboring communities. This map preserves an earlier pattern: villages set within open country, wooded hillsides, reservoirs and lakes as defining landmarks, and transport corridors still modest in scale. For collectors, it is a document of place as much as a navigational instrument—a carefully observed portrait of the Hudson Valley highlands and their borderlands before the transformations of the later twentieth century reshaped the landscape.

Cities, towns and places on this map

• Warwick
• Florida
• Chester
• East Chester
• Mount Peter
• Waughaw Valley
• Greenwood Lake
• Wickham Lake
• Upper Greenwood Lake
• Monksville Reservoir
• Various unnamed valleys and forested areas
• Several roads and railways, identified primarily by black lines
• Notable elevation points and contour lines
• Parks and nature reserves, suggested by green shading

Historical context & cartographic details

• Published by the United States Geological Survey, or USGS.
• Dated 1943, with the USGS recording 1943 as the publication year and no separate imprint year specified.
• Drawn at a scale of 1:31,680.
• Part of the USGS tradition of accurate, detailed topographical mapping in the United States.
• Uses contour lines to show elevation changes and varied terrain.
• Employs color differentiation to indicate landforms, water bodies, vegetation, and other landscape features.
• Designed with a practical, readable aesthetic typical of USGS maps, supporting navigation and geographic study.
• Captures the area before later urban development and post-World War II land-use changes reshaped parts of the region.

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.