1940 Map of Marseilles

About this map

Marseilles serves as the industrial and transportation anchor for this portion of the Illinois River valley, where the historic Illinois and Michigan Canal runs parallel to the modern Chicago Rock Island and Pacific RR. The landscape reflects a dense 19th-century educational network, evidenced by numerous rural schoolhouses such as the Fox River Academy, Aronson School, and Peddicord School that served the outlying farming townships. North of the river, the Fox River meanders through Serena and past the Norwegian settlement at Norway, while the southern plains are defined by drainage runs like Armstrong Run and Hog Run. A notable transit artifact is the Chicago and Peoria Electric (Abandoned) line, which traces the northern bluffs of the valley near Crotty (Seneca PO).