1964 Map of Fort Madison

About this map

Fort Madison dominates this mid-1960s survey, showing its dense urban grid pressed against the Mississippi River. The city’s geography is defined by the Fort Madison Corporate Boundary and the prominent State Penitentiary grounds on the eastern waterfront. To the north, the landscape transitions into the agricultural plateaus of Denmark and Washington townships, carved by the deep ravines of Lost Creek and Mud Creek. Transportation is a central theme, with the Chicago Burlington and Quincy railroad hugging the shoreline and the Fort Madison Municipal Airport and Riddles Airstrip serving the rural uplands. Genealogists will find a wealth of named burial sites, from Claypoole Cem in the hills to Elmwood Cem and Oakland Cem within the town. The river itself reveals a complex of named features like Lead Island and Dutchman Island, separated by the Lead Island Chute.