1935 Map of Arcola

About this map

The Kaskaskia River and its tributary Flat Branch carve a winding course through this central Illinois landscape, defining the boundaries between Douglas, Moultrie, and Coles Counties. Surveyed in the mid-1930s, the map reveals a dense rural infrastructure of one-room schoolhouses and country churches spaced almost perfectly to serve the surrounding farmsteads. Larger settlements like Arcola and Arthur are firmly anchored by the intersection of major rail lines, including the Illinois Central and Pennsylvania railroads. These transit corridors dictated the growth of small grain-shipping points like Galton and Chesterville. Notable for genealogists are the numerous family-named landmarks and rural institutions, such as Yoder Cem and the uniquely named Pulltight Sch. The concentration of African American history is marked by Quinn Chapel, while the varied school names like Business Knoll Sch and Bagdad Sch provide specific geographic anchors for tracing early 20th-century local history.