1950 Map of Milan

About this map

Black Hawk State Park anchors the confluence of the Mississippi River and Rock River, illustrating the complex water-and-rail geography of the Illinois-Iowa border just after the war. The map reveals an intensive network of educational and social institutions serving the expanding cities of Rock Island and Moline, including the County Sanitarium and numerous neighborhood schools like Denkman Sch and Logan Sch. South of the rivers, the landscape transitions from the urbanized riverbanks to the more dispersed settlements of Milan and Fruitland. Local history is preserved in the clustering of denominational cemeteries such as St Mary Cem, Calvary Cem, and Hebrew Cem on the heights of South Rock Island. Further south, the path of the Rock Island Southern and an Abandoned Railroad mark the changing industrial footprint of the Coal Valley region.