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1953 Map of Belton

Name: 1953 Topographic Map of Belton
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1966
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1966

About this map

Grandview Air Force Base occupies a central position on the landscape in the early 1950s, signaling the Cold War era military expansion south of Kansas City. The town of Belton is well-established along the St Louis San Francisco railroad, while smaller rural junctions like Jaudon and Kenneth are linked by the Kansas City Southern line. The map reveals an active industrial and agricultural interior, featuring the Knoche Oil Field and the Lamar Airport landing strip.

Local genealogy and settlement history are preserved through numerous landmarks, including High Blue Sch and Mt Pleasant Sch. The rural landscape of Mount Pleasant is also dotted with family-named burial grounds such as Woodland Cem and Bryant Cem. These features, alongside the meandering paths of the Blue River and Little Blue River, show a region transitioning between its traditional agrarian roots and new mid-century industrial developments.