Loading map...

1953 Map of Eliza

Name: 1953 Topographic Map of Eliza
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1958
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1958

About this map

The town of Eliza and the smaller settlement of Petersville anchor this mid-century survey of the Illinois borderlands between Rock Island and Mercer Counties. The landscape is defined by a dense network of one-room schoolhouses and local landmarks that speak to a dispersed, traditional rural community. Named schools like Thornton School, French School, Hazel Dell School, and the uniquely named White Eagle School are scattered throughout the Drury, Eliza, and Duncan townships, indicating the high density of families in this agricultural region before school consolidation.

Waterways like Copperas Creek and Eliza Creek wind through the terrain, while the upland area known as Buffalo Prairie sits to the northeast. Genealogy interests are supported by the inclusion of Miller Cemetery and Eliza Creek Cemetery, alongside rural congregations at Wrayville Church and Union Church, providing a precise look at the social and physical geography of western Illinois in the 1950s.