1935 Map of Monks Mound

About this map

Cahokia Mounds State Park serves as a focal point of this 1930s landscape, featuring the massive Monks Mound and the nearby Rattlesnake Mound. This mid-depression era survey captures a complex intersection of ancient earthworks and early 20th-century industry, where the Cahokia Canal and various drainage ditches crisscross the bottomlands surrounding Horseshoe Lake. The area is a dense hub of transportation, with numerous rail lines like the Alton and Southern RR and the Illinois Terminal RR weaving through emerging residential developments such as Fairmont City and Washington Park. Local leisure and social hubs are clearly marked, including the Fairmont Jockey Club and the Madison Kennel Club, providing a clear picture of the region's recreational life before mid-century expansion. Small rural schoolhouses like Bullfrog Sta Sch and Pleasant Grove Schoolhouse pepper the landscape, offering valuable data for genealogists tracing family roots in these shifting Illinois communities.