Loading map...

1901 Map of Marshall

Name: 1901 Topographic Map of Marshall
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1908
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1908

About this map

The Missouri River carves a massive, serpentine path through this central Missouri landscape, shaping the development of river towns and rail junctions alike. Surveys conducted between 1885 and 1887 reveal a highly active floodplain, characterized by dynamic features like Brunswick Island, Prunty Island, and the remnant oxbows of Grand Pass Lake and Backbone Lake. The interaction between water and steel is evident where the Wabash Railroad skirts the northern bluffs and the Chicago and Alton Railroad serves the regional hub at Marshall.

Away from the riverbanks, the terrain rises into productive uplands marked by numerous small settlements and post offices. Genealogy researchers can trace the early footprints of Slater, Malta Bend, and Shackleford, or locate now-obscure locales like Laynesville and Fairville. The map also captures the confluence of the Grand River and the Missouri, a critical junction that historically anchored the town of Brunswick against the shifting currents of the bottomlands.