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1950 Map of Franklin

Name: 1950 Topographic Map of Franklin
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1950
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1950

About this map

Franklin serves as the focal point of this mid-century survey, showing the city's significant institutional growth through the Masonic Home, Greenlawn Cemetery, and the Johnson County Memorial Hospital. The landscape to the south is dominated by the Camp Atterbury Military Reservation, which includes a noted Prisoner of War Camp and Wakeman Hospital during this post-war era. The transportation network is defined by the intersection of the Pennsylvania Railroad and the Illinois Central Railroad, which facilitated the movement of goods and people between smaller rural hubs like Trafalgar, Nineveh, and Providence.

Further south, the terrain transitions into the creek-carved ridges of Hamblen and Nineveh townships. Here, local life is documented through numerous country schools like the Craven School and Walker School, and remote houses of worship such as Goshen Church and Zion Church. The presence of the Franklin 2 Airfield and a Strip Mine near the military boundary reflects the area's mix of traditional agriculture, wartime infrastructure, and burgeoning industrial activity.