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1954 Map of Alton

Name: 1954 Topographic Map of Alton
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1986
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1986

About this map

The Mississippi River defines the industrial and geographic character of this riverfront landscape, where the Lock and Dam No 26 and the Clark Bridge facilitate movement across the water toward Portage Des Sioux. On the Illinois side, the city of Alton climbs the bluffs with a dense network of civic and religious institutions, including State House Square, the Ursuline Convent, and numerous healthcare facilities like Alton Memorial Hospital.

Northward, the map transitions into the rolling hills of Godfrey and Foster, where early rural social structures are evident through landmarks like Union Sch and the Confederate Cem. The influence of the railroad era is visible via the Illinois Central Gulf and Burlington Northern lines, which cut through the landscape near Godfrey Pond and the Lewis and Clark Community College campus. The inclusion of purple-tinted revisions from the late 1960s and 1970s highlights the post-war suburban expansion reaching into formerly wooded areas like Youngblood Hollow.