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1956 Map of Agency

Name: 1956 Topographic Map of Agency
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1958
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1958

About this map

The Des Moines River carves a winding path through this mid-century landscape of Agency and its rural environs in southeastern Iowa. This map documents a dense network of country education and faith, recording numerous local landmarks including the Alpine Log Ch and Miller Chapel. The presence of several namesake institutions, such as O'Connor Sch, Hubler Sch, and Betterton Sch, highlights the importance of these small community hubs before later school consolidations altered the social geography of Wapello and Davis Counties.

Transportation corridors are clearly defined by the Chicago Burlington and Quincy and the Chicago Rock Island and Pacific railroads, which parallel the river valley. Moving south from the town of Agency, the terrain becomes increasingly dissected by tributaries like Village Creek and Soap Creek, leading toward the small settlement at Cliffland. This 1950s survey provides a detailed record of local genealogy sites, from the Fiedler Cem to the storied Mars Hill Ch near the southern border.