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1925 Map of Elgin

Name: 1925 Topographic Map of Elgin
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1932
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1932

About this map

The Fox River corridor anchors this mid-1920s landscape, serving as the industrial and social spine for growing settlements like Carpentersville, West Dundee, and the city of Elgin. Away from the river, the terrain transitions into an intensive agricultural and educational network. Dozens of named country schoolhouses, such as Munshawville School, Hickory Grove School, and Butler School, are distributed across the townships of Grafton, Rutland, and Plato, marking the centers of rural community life before school consolidation took hold.

Railroad connectivity is highly visible through the paths of the Chicago and Northwestern Ry and the Illinois Central RR, which link smaller hubs like Huntley and Gilberts to the larger river cities. Notable landmarks such as Crystal Lake and Silver Lake appear in the north, while the southern reaches show the emerging street grids of South Elgin and Clintonville. The map details early infrastructure through labels for State Highway No 19 and other arterial routes during the initial expansion of the Illinois state highway system.