1917 Map of Coulterville

About this map

Coulterville and Sparta anchor this 1917 portrait of southern Illinois, revealing a landscape defined by its rural school districts and extensive rail infrastructure. The map depicts a period when one-room schoolhouses like Scotland School, Gravel Hill School, and Lost Prairie School were the heart of local communities, spaced evenly across the prairie. The region's development was driven by a dense network of railroads, including the Illinois Central and the Mobile and Ohio, which intersected at strategic junctions to serve the agricultural and burgeoning industrial needs of the county. From the open expanses of Grande Cote Prairie to the drainage basins of Marys River and Galum Creek, the survey captures the transition from pioneer-era settlement to an established rail-dependent economy. Notable local sites like The Lake near Coulterville and the small settlement of Kampenville provide specific points of interest for local history and genealogy research.