Loading map...

1953 Map of Andover

Name: 1953 Topographic Map of Andover
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1957
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1957

About this map

The Edwards River meanders across this rural Henry County landscape, anchoring a region defined by scattered agricultural settlements and local institutions in the early 1950s. The village of Andover serves as a local hub, featuring the Jenny Lind Church and a Home for children on its outskirts. To the north and west, the towns of Orion, Osco, and Lynn Center are linked by the Chicago Rock Island and Pacific railroad, which cuts a straight path through the township boundaries of Lynn and Western.

Education and faith are deeply rooted in the countryside, evidenced by several one-room schoolhouses like Forest View School and Pleasant Valley School, alongside the Community Church in Osco. The map also documents changing transportation infrastructure, noting a Chicago Burlington and Quincy (Dismantled railroad) segment near Lynn Center, reflecting the shifting rail economy of mid-century Illinois.