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1958 Map of Kief

Name: 1958 Topographic Map of Kief
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1959
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1959

About this map

Kief serves as the focal point of this prairie landscape, where the Minneapolis Sault Ste Marie and St Paul railroad cuts diagonally across the northern townships. The terrain is defined by a dense concentration of glacial potholes and larger bodies of water, including Cottonwood Lake and the elongated Moesner Lake. To the south and west, the elevation rises into the prominent Dogden hills, creating a stark contrast to the flatter lake country of the north.

Local history is preserved in the location of the Kief Cem and the rural Strassburg Sch No 2, which anchors the southeastern corner of McHenry County. The boundary where McHenry, Sheridan, and McLean counties converge is clearly delineated, showing the dispersed settlement pattern of the late 1950s near Byersville. The map illustrates the specialized infrastructure of the era, from the grid of unimproved dirt roads to the strategic placement of schools and cemeteries serving isolated farmsteads.