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1931 Map of Barry

Name: 1931 Topographic Map of Barry
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1931
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1931

About this map

The Mississippi River floodplain dominates the western landscape of this 1931 survey, showing a complex network of sloughs and chutes along the Illinois-Missouri border. The map details a sophisticated drainage system including the Sny Ditch and Sny Slough, which were critical for reclaiming the rich bottomlands of Cincinnati and Pleasant Vale townships. This agricultural expansion is supported by a dense concentration of rural schoolhouses, such as Prairie Sch and Diamond Hill Sch, indicating a well-populated farming community during the early 20th century.

Transportation corridors define the settlement patterns, with the Wabash RR serving Hull and Barry, while the Chicago Burlington and Quincy RR skirts the base of the bluffs through New Canton. The contrast between the flat, water-carved bottomlands and the dissected uplands near Hadley Creek is sharp, with numerous cemeteries like Taylor Cem and Brown Cem situated on higher ground, preserving the genealogical footprint of the region's early residents.