1958 Map of Butler West

About this map

Agricultural life in DeKalb County during the late 1950s is anchored by the rail crossing at Butler, where the New York Central Railroad meets the Grand Trunk Western RR. This transportation nexus supported a rural landscape defined by township blocks such as Wilmington and Grant, crisscrossed by a network of drainage ditches including Donnell and Varner. The map reveals a high density of local institutions that served the farmstead economy, from the Franklin Center Sch to country congregations at Norris Chapel and Mt Pleasant Ch. Genealogists will find a wealth of family-named landmarks and small burial grounds, such as Haverstock Cem, Lutz Cem, and Rude Cem, which document the settlement patterns of northeast Indiana before modern consolidation altered these tight-knit communities.