1960 Map of Cannon City

About this map

The Cannon River and Straight River converge at the western edge of this 1960 landscape, where the Faribault City Boundary encloses the grounds of the State Hospital and several large limestone Quarries. This portion of Rice County reveals a mid-century rural infrastructure centered on established townships like Cannon City, Wheeling, and Richland. The economic life of the area is visible in the numerous Gravel Pits dotting the prairie and the passage of two major rail lines: the Chicago Milwaukee St Paul and Pacific and the Chicago Rock Island and Pacific. Small communities and vanished rural social hubs are documented through the presence of Prairieville, Ruskin, and several local landmarks including the Wide Awake Sch and School No 1173. Drainage patterns of the Prairie Creek and the headwaters of the North Branch Zumbro River illustrate the transition from river valley to open upland.