1890 Map of Mexico

About this map

The town of Mexico serves as the central hub of this late-nineteenth-century landscape, where a dense network of iron rails defines the local economy and movement. Surveyed in 1887, the map illustrates the critical intersections of the Wabash Railroad, the Chicago and Alton Railroad, and the Alton Railroad. These lines connect a series of small, burgeoning agricultural settlements like Benton City, Martinsburgh, Laddonia, and Rush Hill. Away from the rail corridors, the terrain is shaped by the winding branches of the Salt River and its numerous tributaries, including the Middle Fork of Salt River and the South Fork. Notable outliers like the northern settlement of Florida and the post office at Shamrock provide important markers for genealogists tracing ancestors in the rural reaches of Audrain and Monroe counties during this era of westward expansion.