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1916 Map of Good Hope

Name: 1916 Topographic Map of Good Hope
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1972
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1972

About this map

Good Hope and Bushnell anchor this 1916 agricultural landscape in McDonough County, where the transition from prairie to creek-carved timber is marked by a dense network of country schools and growing rail towns. The topography is defined by the East Fork Crooked Creek and its many tributaries like Short Fork and Drowning Fork, which dictated the early layout of homesteads and roads. For genealogists, the map is remarkably specific, identifying individual landmarks like the curiously named Mud College, the Sugarloaf School, and Salem School.

The presence of the Chicago Burlington and Quincy and the Toledo Peoria and Western railroads illustrates the vital transport corridors of the early 20th century. Smaller settlements such as Youngstown, Sciota, and Swan Creek appear as concentrated hubs of local life, complete with designated structures like the Town Hall in Greenbush. This survey documents a moment when one-room schoolhouses still dotted nearly every section of the township lines.