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1959 Map of Mason City SE

Name: 1959 Topographic Map of Mason City SE
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1966
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1966

About this map

The Winnebago River meanders across the northern portion of this landscape, its course through Portland and Rock Grove townships flanked by notable terrain features like Big Gully and the erosion-carved Badlands. In the late 1950s, this area of Cerro Gordo County was a crossroads of significant Midwestern transport, with the Chicago Rock Island and Pacific and the Chicago and North Western railroads cutting across the rural topography. Industrial activity is evidenced by Gravel Pits concentrated near the river, likely serving local road and rail infrastructure.

A network of smaller waterways including Little Lime Creek, Rock Creek, and Beaver Creek drain the surrounding fields of Owen and Scott townships. This 1959 survey records a transition in the Iowa countryside where traditional field lines—indicated by red dashed markings—persist alongside the growing footprint of heavy rail and aggregate mining. Researchers can trace the exact intersections of historical property boundaries and the hydrology of the upper Cedar River watershed.