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1923 Map of Lehigh

Name: 1923 Topographic Map of Lehigh
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1923
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1923

About this map

The Des Moines River carves a deep, winding path through this central Iowa landscape, defining the industrial and social development of Webster County during the early 1920s. Concentrated activity follows the riverbanks and the intense rail network, where towns like Coalville, Kalo, and Clayworks speak to the region's rich history of coal mining and tile production. Further south, the town of Lehigh sits prominently in a sharp river bend, connected by the Fort Dodge Des Moines and Southern and the Chicago Great Western railroads.

Rural life is meticulously documented through an extensive network of schoolhouses, including Blacks Corner School, Beech Corner School, and Rufus School. Notable landmarks like the Poor Farm west of Fort Dodge and the ancient Coon Mound near Harcourt provide distinct markers of social history and the physical terrain. This era showcases the peak of the rail-and-river economy before modern highways restructured the agricultural and industrial distribution of the valley.