2024 Map of Belle Prairie City

About this map

Belle Prairie City and the small hamlets of Piopolis and Delafield anchor this corner of Hamilton County, where a grid of rural county roads overlies a landscape defined by its many winding watercourses. The northern reaches are drained by Shelton Creek and the Kennedy-Voris Main Drain, while Big Creek and Middle Creek meander through the southern sections. This modern survey reveals a highly organized agricultural layout, where family names and local history are preserved in sites like Rawls Cem, Crouch Cem, and Cherry Grove Cem. The presence of established drainage systems like Dry Island Drain and Black Branch suggests a history of careful water management to sustain the surrounding farmsteads. These patterns of settlement and land use reflect the long-standing importance of this fertile Illinois prairie region.