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1969 Map of Des Moines

Name: 1969 Topographic Map of Des Moines
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1969
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1969

About this map

Des Moines sits at the heart of this central Iowa regional study, showing the city's mid-century expansion alongside its historic river junctions. The confluence of the Des Moines River and the Raccoon River anchors the capital's footprint, while the newly indicated Saylorville Reservoir to the north reflects significant hydraulic engineering of the era. To the east, the Sac and Fox Indian Reservation stands as a distinct cultural landscape near the Iowa River.

A dense transport network of railroads, including the Chicago Rock Island and Pacific and the Chicago and North Western, illustrates the industrial connectivity that linked smaller agricultural hubs like Pella, Newton, and Grinnell to the larger markets of Ottumwa and beyond. The map provides a comprehensive view of the rural township structure, dotted with local cemeteries and schools that define the settlement patterns across the South Skunk River and English River valleys during a period of significant highway modernization.