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1958 Map of Davenport

Name: 1958 Topographic Map of Davenport
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1968
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1968

About this map

The Mississippi River serves as the industrial and geographic spine of this mid-century survey, anchoring the Quad Cities of Davenport, Rock Island, and Moline. The river corridor is flanked by significant conservation efforts, including the Mark Twain NWR and the Loud Thunder State Forest Preserve. This 1958 state of the land reflects a period of significant water management and recreation development, prominently featuring the recently established Coralville Reservoir on the Iowa River north of Iowa City.

Away from the river banks, the landscape is defined by the dense grid of rail lines that connected the agricultural heartland to the manufacturing hubs. The Chicago and North Western and Chicago Rock Island and Pacific railroads lace through smaller settlements like Tipton, West Liberty, and Walford. This network supported a prosperous grain and livestock economy before the interstate highway system fully matured, preserving the traditional rail-oriented layout of eastern Iowa and western Illinois towns.