Loading map...

1978 Map of Corley

Name: 1978 Topographic Map of Corley
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1978
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1978

About this map

The West Nishnabotna River and its East Branch West Nishnabotna River converge in this agricultural landscape of Shelby County during the late 1970s. The settlement of Corley sits at the heart of the map, situated near the Harlan Municipal Airport and the local Township Cemetery. This survey preserves the rural social structure of the era, from the centralized County Farm north of town to the outlying spiritual and commemorative center of Altamont Church and Altamont Cemetery to the east.

Transportation history is etched into the terrain by an Old Railroad Grade that cuts across the northwestern and southwestern corners of the quadrangle, tracing a path no longer in active rail use by this time. The map documents a classic Iowa river valley economy, where the winding river loops are punctuated by several Sandpit sites, indicating local extractive activity alongside the established township boundaries of Lincoln, Center, and Fairview.