1950 Map of Danville SE

About this map

The Vermilion River carves a deep, forested valley through this landscape, separating the industrial and institutional expansion of south Danville from the rural borderlands of Illinois and Indiana. The mid-century city is anchored by large-scale facilities including the Veterans Hospital, St Elizabeth Hospital, and the Municipal Airport. To the south, the terrain becomes increasingly complex as the Langley Bottom gives way to a network of creeks like Grape Creek and Hawbuck Creek. Evidence of early resource extraction is visible through scattered labels for a Strip Mine and an Inactive Mine. This era shows a dense network of rural infrastructure, from parochial schools like St Patrick Sch to country institutions such as Union Corner Sch and Morey Chapel, many of which served the small communities of Rileysburg and Gessie along the Chicago and Eastern Illinois railroad line.