North Reading History…in Maps
by Matthew T. Page
It goes without saying that everyone loves historic maps. But we don’t have many maps of old North Reading. Because our town was a small rural community for much of its history, it was largely ignored by 18th and 19th century cartographers. Fortunately, the Society has found some high-resolution digital scans of the few historic maps of North Reading that do exist. We’ve uploaded these to our digital map collection so you can view and download them. Enjoy!
1634: Pre-Colonial Settlements
The northern section of William Wood’s 1634 map of Plymouth Colony. North Reading sits roughly in the center of this map.
A conception of what pre-colonial North Reading might have looked like (generated by Google Gemini AI).
1794: North Parish of Redding
The North Parish of Redding (now Wakefield) is shown here in a 1794 hand drawn map. North Reading’s bodies of water—Martins Pond, Swans Pond, and the Ipswich River—can be clearly seen in dark ink. The tracks and roads that criss-crossed the parish are marked with dotted lines. Many of these follow the routes of modern-day thoroughfares (Haverhill Street, Elm Street, North Street, Marblehead Street, and Park Street can all be seen).
1888: Mapping Town Topography
A topographical map showing the land contours, wetlands, and waterways of our town. The hill visible to the southeast of North Reading’s West Village is known as Sanborn’s Hill or Muster Hill, so-called because it played host to militia drills during the Revolutionary War.
1889: Comparing Three Sister Towns
This map shows the three towns that started out as three parishes of Redding (renamed Wakefield in 1868). It reveals how sparsely settled North Reading was compared to its sister towns, both of which sat astride the main rail line to Boston. The rail line through North Reading, in contrast, primarily served as a freight conduit between the Merrimack Valley factory towns and the port of Salem.
1889: North Reading Village
An inset accompanying the previous 1889 map, this plan of North Reading Center is anchored around the Town Common. A second inset (top left) shows the West Village: the area along Park Street west of modern-day Route 28.
1906: Signs of Growth
This town index map (from a 1906 Atlas of Middlesex County) suggests that North Reading was beginning to grow. More homes are visible on this map, especially on the west side of town.
1944: New Neighborhoods
This 1944 U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) map shows new neighborhoods (e.g. Oakdale Road, Abbott/Leland Roads) taking shape. It also reveals the extent of development that took place along the east side of Martins Pond during the 1920s and 30s, when the pond became a popular vacation destination for Bostonians seeking to beat the summer heat.
1966: Modern N. Reading Takes Shape
This 1966 USGS map shows a lot of features visible in modern-day North Reading: more neighborhoods, schools, shopping centers, high voltage power lines, and the Hillview Country Club. Comparing this to the 1888 map, it is clear how rapidly North Reading developed in the first half of the twentieth century.
Like historical maps? Let us know if you know of maps we might not have in our collection—especially maps c. 1900-1980 that might only be available in hardcopy. As always, you can reach us at: info@nreadinghistory.org
