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1912 Map of Baldwin

Name: 1912 Topographic Map of Baldwin
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1967
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1967

About this map

The Kaskaskia River snakes through the heart of Randolph and St. Clair counties, defining a landscape of river-bottom commerce and upland farmsteads. Surveyed just before the Great War and updated in the 1940s, the map reveals a dense network of one-room schoolhouses that once anchored these rural Illinois communities. From the Stringtown School near the river bluffs to the Jordan Grove School in the north, these educational landmarks are plotted alongside the established towns of Marissa, Red Bud, and Evansville.

Transportation is dominated by the Mobile and Ohio and the Illinois Southern railroads, which facilitated the movement of goods between small hubs like Schuline and Walsh. In the southern reaches, the river's influence is clear as it passes through the township of Ellis Grove near Roots and Collins. The distribution of farm-to-market roads and named schools like Charter Oak School and McHatton School provides a clear record of local settlement patterns during this transition from agrarian isolation to a more connected rail economy.