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1912 Map of Ames

Name: 1912 Topographic Map of Ames
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1956
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1956

About this map

Iowa State College serves as the southern anchor for this central Iowa landscape, surveyed in the early 20th century. The settlement of Ames is shown in its younger form, clustered south of the Chicago and Northwestern rail lines. To the north, the Skunk River and its various tributaries, including Keigley Branch and Squaw Creek, dictate the movement of the terrain and the placement of rural infrastructure.

Genealogists will find this sheet especially dense with family-named district schools that once defined local townships. Small education centers like Rosedale School, Thorson School, and Espeland School are scattered throughout Ellsworth, Lafayette, and Howard townships. The map also records early transport hubs like Story City and Roland, along with the intersection of the Minneapolis and St. Louis railroad as it cuts through the northern farming communities.