1963 Map of La Crosse

About this map

The Black River and the Mississippi River dominate the western edge of this terrain, where the sprawling Upper Mississippi River Wild Life and Fish Refuge buffers the urban centers of La Crosse and Onalaska. This mid-century landscape is defined by the sharp transition from the river bottoms to the deeply dissected ridges of the driftless area, where numerous coulees like Mormon Coulee and State Road Coulee provide narrow corridors for agriculture and early settlements. The rail infrastructure is dense, with the Chicago Burlington and Quincy and the Chicago Milwaukee St Paul and Pacific railroads converging near Grand Crossing.