1954 Map of Mason City

About this map

Mason City and Rochester anchor this mid-century look at the borderlands between northern Iowa and southern Minnesota. The landscape is defined by the dense network of the Chicago Milwaukee St Paul and Pacific and the Chicago Great Western railroads, which facilitated the growth of meatpacking and agricultural centers like Austin and Albert Lea. These rail lines crisscross a terrain of fertile prairies and slow-moving waters, such as the Shell Rock River and Cedar River.