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1940 Map of Cahokia

Name: 1940 Topographic Map of Cahokia
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1950
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1950

About this map

The Mississippi River defines the landscape of this 1940s-era survey, separating the dense urban grid of St Louis from the industrial corridors and wetlands of the American Bottoms. In Illinois, the intense concentration of rail infrastructure is evident through the convergence of the St Louis Terminal RR, Illinois Central RR, and Missouri Pacific RR, which served the growing industrial town of Monsanto and the rail yards at Dupo.

On the Missouri side, the map details established neighborhoods near Tower Grove Park and Gravois Park, along with institutional landmarks like the US Marine Hospital and St Elizabeth Academy. To the south, the terrain shifts into the higher ground of Sugar Loaf, while the lowlands near Cahokia are marked by legacy water features such as Cahokia Slough and Lily Lake, illustrating the complex drainage of the floodplains before modern development further altered the riverside.