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1940 Map of Cahokia

Name: 1940 Topographic Map of Cahokia
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1940
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1940

About this map

The industrial corridor of the Mississippi River south of St Louis defines this 1940 survey, showcasing a landscape dense with rail infrastructure and early-century manufacturing centers. On the Illinois side, the riverfront is dominated by Monsanto and the massive rail yards of the Terminal Railroad Association at Valley Junction. This era captures Cahokia before its suburban expansion, when it was still separated from the river by the Cahokia Slough and surrounded by numerous waterways like Lily Lake and Labras Lake.

The Illinois bottomlands transitions into the prominent heights of Sugar Loaf, where a network of rural schools including Sugarloaf Sch and Jackson Sch served the upland communities. On the Missouri side, the map provides detailed street-level views of Carondelet, showing significant institutions such as the U S Marine Hospital and the Workhouse Quarry. The heavy reliance on rail is evident through the convergence of lines like the St Louis and Southwestern Railroad and the Illinois Central Railroad through Dupo.