1954 Map of Freeburg

About this map

Freeburg and Smithton anchor this mid-century survey of St. Clair County, depicting a landscape where agriculture, transportation, and industry intersect. The Illinois Central and Louisville and Nashville railroads bisect the terrain, facilitating the movement of goods between the local coal resources and the greater metropolitan region. A large Strip Mine in the southern portion of the quadrangle near New Athens reveals the active extraction era, while numerous small schools like Hertel Sch and Lemen Sch suggest a rural community structure still very much intact.