This collection of historical maps traces the development of the Brentwood community from the mid-nineteenth century to present day. The earliest maps show Modern Times, the Utopian community proceeding Brentwood. Later maps feature interesting changes in place names, the growth of suburbia, and the origination of new neighborhoods.
From the late nineteenth century to the nineteen thirties, real estate companies speculated and developed Brentwood; proposed neighborhoods can be seen appearing on a number of maps for the first time. Interestingly, the proposals for said developments is sometimes at odds with how the developments actually came to be, as we see when comparing earlier prospectuses with later maps and present-day streets in the collection.
In the mid-twentieth century Brentwood’s population truly burgeoned. At this point, the community grew from a rural settlement into a true part of suburbia. This growth, over the course of the twentieth century, is demonstrated in a number of later maps.
Scope of Collection
Maps from the Brentwood Public Library local history room. The maps feature early depictions of the Utopian community of Modern Times, from the development of early Brentwood, to the growth of suburbia and new neighborhoods.
