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1934 Map of Burlington

Name: 1934 Topographic Map of Burlington
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1934
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1934

About this map

The Mississippi River dominates this mid-1930s survey, defining the border between Illinois and Iowa with an intricate network of chutes, sloughs, and islands. This environment shaped a cluster of riverside settlements and transit points, including Gulfport and Orchard City, positioned where the Chicago Burlington and Quincy railroad crosses the floodplains. The map reveals the hydraulic complexity of the era, showing how the Diversion Channel and Old Channel redirected the flow near Whitehead Island.

Further inland, the landscape transitions to the rural townships of Gladstone and Carman. These areas are anchored by small country schools such as Merry Dell Sch and Kirby Sch, and served by railroad stops like Carthage Lake Sta and Silver Lake Sta. The presence of features like Cooneys Bar and Shokokon Slough illustrates the seasonal nature of the river economy before modern levee systems fully transformed the bottomlands.