1929 Map of Ferryville

About this map

The Mississippi River corridor in southwestern Wisconsin is defined here by a dense network of sloughs, islands, and steep bluffs before the era of modern river control. Ribbon-like settlements such as Ferryville and Lynxville cling to the narrow shelf between the water and the rising terrain of the Driftless Area. The Chicago Burlington and Quincy Railroad tracks follow the river's edge, serving as the primary transit artery for these riverside towns. Inland, the landscape transitions into a series of ridges and deep hollows like Cooley Valley and Bohland Hollow, where the agricultural economy of the late 1920s is evident in the high density of rural schools and churches. Names like Freeman Church and Asbury School mark the social centers of these ridge-top communities, while the complex hydrology of Winneshiek Slough and Lafayette Slough reflects a natural river environment still subject to seasonal flux.