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1956 Map of Des Moines NE

Name: 1956 Topographic Map of Des Moines NE
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1958
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1958

About this map

Ankeny stands at the northern edge of this mid-century survey, situated within a dense network of competing rail lines that defined the Des Moines periphery. The landscape is marked by the industrial and transport infrastructure of the 1950s, featuring the Chicago and North Western and Fort Dodge Des Moines and Southern railroads. Smaller unincorporated settlements like Oralabor and Marquisville are visible alongside the developing outskirts of Des Moines to the south.

Conservation and community spaces are well-documented, including Margo Frankel Woods State Park and the Highland Memory Gardens cemetery. The drainage patterns of Fourmile Creek and Muchikinock Creek cut through the terrain, while local education is anchored by institutions like Saydel High Sch and Woodside Sch. This period shows the transition of Polk County from a predominantly rural landscape to an increasingly suburbanized extension of the state capital.