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1953 Map of Kouts

Name: 1953 Topographic Map of Kouts
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1955
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1955

About this map

Kouts serves as a significant rail hub in the southern portion of Porter County, where the Erie, Pennsylvania, and Chesapeake and Ohio railroads converge to shape the local economy. This 1953 survey illustrates a landscape heavily altered by early drainage engineering, visible in the extensive network of straightened channels like Jones Ditch, State Ditch, and Phillips Ditch that feed toward the Kankakee River. These man-made waterways were essential for reclaiming the wet prairie for agriculture, as evidenced by the numerous spoil banks lining the river's edge.

Smaller rural settlements and points of interest dot the interior, including the crossroads at Five Points Corner and the community of Aylesworth. Local history is further preserved through the identification of family and community burial grounds such as Merriman Cem, Spencer Cem, and Graceland Cem. The inclusion of functional landmarks like the Water Tanks near Sandy Hook highlights the infrastructure required to support the steam and early diesel locomotives transiting this Midwestern rail corridor.