Historic Nautical Charts

By The Red Hook WaterStories team

A selection of historic nautical charts, from the NOAA Office of Coast Survey.  They provide interesting details on the evolution of Red Hook.  

Today's Office of Coast Survey traces its charting efforts back to 1807, when President Thomas Jefferson founded the Survey of the Coast. To celebrate and preserve this long history, NOAA started assembling the collection in 1995 as a data rescue effort. NOAA continues to preserve charts and maps produced by NOAA's Coast Survey and its predecessors, especially the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey and the U.S. Lake Survey (previously under the Department of War).

- NOAA Office of Coast Survey

 

Images

Nautical Chart No. 369, New York Bay and Harbor, 1845 [cropped]

Nautical Chart No. 369, New York Bay and Harbor, 1845 [cropped]

Scale: 1:80,000 Note: Original map has troop locations from the Battle of Brooklyn | Source: https://historicalcharts.noaa.gov/historicals/preview/image/369-00-1845 | Creator: U.S. Coast Survey View File Details Page

Nautical Chart No. 369, Bay and Harbor of New York, 8th Ed., 1874 [cropped]

Nautical Chart No. 369, Bay and Harbor of New York, 8th Ed., 1874 [cropped]

Scale: 1:40000 Note: This chart does not show Erie Basin's piers, but does show a "hook" around Henry Street Basin | Source: https://historicalcharts.noaa.gov/jpgs/369-8-1874.jpg | Creator: US Coast & Geodetic Survey View File Details Page

Nautical Chart No. 369, Bay and Harbor of New York, 1889 [cropped]

Nautical Chart No. 369, Bay and Harbor of New York, 1889 [cropped]

Scale; 1:40,000 | Source: https://historicalcharts.noaa.gov/historicals/preview/image/369-8-1889 | Creator: US Coast & Geodetic Survey View File Details Page

Nautical Chart No. 120, New York Bay and Harbor, 1894 [cropped]

Nautical Chart No. 120, New York Bay and Harbor, 1894 [cropped]

Scale: 1:80,000 Notes: There's a gap in the corner of the long wharf on the outside of Erie Basin  Governor's Island is not yet expanded | Source: https://historicalcharts.noaa.gov/historicals/preview/image/LC00120_10_1894 | Creator: US Coast & Geodetic Survey View File Details Page

Nautical Chart No. 369, New York Bay and Harbor, Upper Half, 2nd Ed., 1910 [cropped]

Nautical Chart No. 369, New York Bay and Harbor, Upper Half, 2nd Ed., 1910 [cropped]

Scale: 1:40,000 Note the indications on Governor's Island showing the area being filled in. | Source: https://historicalcharts.noaa.gov/historicals/preview/image/369-2-1910 | Creator: US Coast & Geodetic Survey View File Details Page

Nautical Chart No. 369(4), Hudson & East Rivers, NY, 6th Ed., 1919 [cropped]

Nautical Chart No. 369(4), Hudson & East Rivers, NY, 6th Ed., 1919 [cropped]

Scale: 1:10,000 | Source: https://historicalcharts.noaa.gov/historicals/preview/image/369(4)-6-1919 | Creator: US Coast & Geodetic Survey View File Details Page

Nautical Chart No. 369(4),2nd Ed., Hudson & East Rivers, US Coast & Geodetic Survey, 1930 [cropped]

Nautical Chart No. 369(4),2nd Ed., Hudson & East Rivers, US Coast & Geodetic Survey, 1930 [cropped]

Scale: 1:10,000 | Source: https://historicalcharts.noaa.gov/historicals/preview/image/369(4)-2-1930 | Creator: US Coast & Geodetic Survey View File Details Page

Nautical Chart No. 745, Hudson and East Rivers, 1941 [cropped]

Nautical Chart No. 745, Hudson and East Rivers, 1941 [cropped]

Scale: 1:10,000 | Source: https://historicalcharts.noaa.gov/historicals/preview/image/3N745-41 | Creator: US Coast & Geodetic Survey View File Details Page

Nautical Chart No. 541, New York Harbor, Upper Bay and Narrows, 35th Ed., 1957 [cropped]

Nautical Chart No. 541, New York Harbor, Upper Bay and Narrows, 35th Ed., 1957 [cropped]

Scale: 1:10,000Note the "Under Construction" dotted line across Atlantic Basin | Source: https://historicalcharts.noaa.gov/jpgs/541-11-1957.jpg | Creator: US Coast & Geodetic Survey View File Details Page

Nautical Chart No. 541, New York Harbor, Upper Bay and Narrows, 8th Ed., 1966 [cropped]

Nautical Chart No. 541, New York Harbor, Upper Bay and Narrows, 8th Ed., 1966 [cropped]

Scale: 1:10,000 | Source: https://historicalcharts.noaa.gov/historicals/preview/image/541-8-1966 | Creator: US Coast & Geodetic Survey View File Details Page

Nautical Chart No. 12334, New York Harbor Upper Bay and Narrows, 49th Ed., 1976 [cropped]

Nautical Chart No. 12334, New York Harbor Upper Bay and Narrows, 49th Ed., 1976 [cropped]

Scale: 1:10,000 Note: Chart No. 12334 was originally Chart No. 541 | Source: https://historicalcharts.noaa.gov/historicals/preview/image/12334-2-1976 | Creator: NOAA-NOS View File Details Page

Nautical Chart No. 12334, New York Harbor, Upper Bay and Narrows, 69th Ed., 2008 [cropped]

Nautical Chart No. 12334, New York Harbor, Upper Bay and Narrows, 69th Ed., 2008 [cropped]

Scale: 1:10,000 Note: This is the first edition of this chart that no longer shows the railroad tracks around Atlantic Basin that had been operated by the New York Dock Company, which ceased operation in 1983. | Source: https://historicalcharts.noaa.gov/historicals/preview/image/12334-08-2008 | Creator: NOAA View File Details Page

Nautical Chart No. 12334, New York Harbor Upper Bay and Narrows, 72nd Ed., 2013 [cropped]

Nautical Chart No. 12334, New York Harbor Upper Bay and Narrows, 72nd Ed., 2013 [cropped]

Scale: 1:10,000 | Source: https://historicalcharts.noaa.gov/historicals/preview/image/12334-11-2013 | Creator: NOAA-NOS View File Details Page

Sources:

  • Historical map and Chart Collection, Office of Coast Survey National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce https://historicalcharts.noaa.gov
Published on Sep 13, 2016. Last updated on Dec 5, 2023.

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