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1980 Map of Florence

Name: 1980 Topographic Map of Florence
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1981
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1981

About this map

The Illinois River corridor defines the western edge of this landscape, where the Norfolk and Western railway crosses the water near Naples. This 1980s record illustrates the extensive levee systems protecting the fertile bottomlands between the river and the rising bluffs to the east. Small agrarian settlements like Exeter, Oxville, and Bloomfield are scattered throughout the interior, connected by a network of rural roads and drainage ways like Mauvaise Terre Creek.

Family history is deeply etched into the topography through a remarkable concentration of named burial grounds, including the West Rutledge Baker Cem, Hill-Crest Cem, and Slagle Cem. Near the river's bend at Florence, the Big Blue Island County Conservation Area and Jack Ellis Marina highlight the recreational and conservation use of the valley, while inland quarries and sandpits reflect the local extractive economy.