1901 Map of Des Plaines

About this map

The Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal dominates the northern landscape of this turn-of-the-century survey, running parallel to the older Illinois and Michigan Canal and the Desplaines River. This corridor reflects a massive engineering era designed to manage regional water and commercial transport. To the south, the terrain transitions into a dense network of early townships including Orland, Bremen, and Frankfort, where agricultural land is segmented by an emerging rail infrastructure. Major lines like the Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe R. R. and the Chicago Rock Island and Pacific Railroad connect established stops at Lemont, Mokena, and Tinley Park. Small settlements and landmarks such as Gooding's Grove, Hadley, and Lane's Island provide critical markers for genealogists tracing late 19th-century homesteads and local commerce routes before the expansion of the Chicago metropolitan area.