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1934 Map of Lees Summit

Name: 1934 Topographic Map of Lees Summit
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1934
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1934

About this map

The Little Blue River snakes through the center of this 1934 survey, defining the rugged drainage patterns of western Jackson County before widespread suburban expansion. The settlement of Lees Summit occupies the southeast corner, serving as a hub for the surrounding agricultural landscape of Brooping Prairie. This era is characterized by a dense network of country schools, including Cedar Hill Sch and Rockford Sch, which anchored the rural communities between the winding river and the growing roadways like State Hwy No 35.

Infrastructure of the early 20th century is evident in the Chicago and Alton RR corridor and the presence of Richards Landing Field in the northwest. Social history of the Jim Crow era is explicitly marked on the landscape with the Jackson County Home (Colored), located near the primary Jackson County Home. Small rail stops and hamlets like Vale, Knobtown, and Little Blue Station reveal the dispersed nature of local commerce during the mid-1930s.