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1953 Map of Madison West

Name: 1953 Topographic Map of Madison West
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1954
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1954

About this map

Hanover College overlooks the dramatic bend of the Ohio River in this mid-century topographic study of the Indiana-Kentucky border. The landscape is defined by the sharp verticality of the river bluffs, where numerous waterfalls such as Chain Mill Falls, Butler Falls, and Deadman Falls drop toward the valley floor. The Indiana side is densely developed around the western edge of Madison, featuring large-scale institutions like the State Hospital and the County Infirmary.

Across the river in Kentucky, the terrain shifts to a complex network of ridges and hollows, including Liberty Ridge and Paynes Hollow, where small family burial grounds like McIntire Cem and Trout Cem are tucked into the steep topography. This map documents a period when the Pennsylvania Railroad still followed the river's edge, and Clifty Falls State Park preserved the spectacular limestone gorges northwest of the city.