1923 Map of Monmouth

About this map

Monmouth serves as a bustling rail center on this 1923 survey, where the Chicago Burlington and Quincy RR and the Minneapolis and St Louis RR intersect. The landscape is intensely divided by the Public Land Survey System, showing a dense grid of rural education that includes uniquely named institutions like Hickory College, Farmer's Academy, and Science Hall School. This network of small district schools, such as Coonville School and Locust Grove School, reflects the high population density of the Illinois prairie before the consolidation of rural school districts. Along the watercourses of Henderson Creek and Cedar Creek, the terrain breaks into more complex topography, contrasting with the flat agricultural uplands where settlements like Kirkwood, Coldbrook, and Berwick are positioned along the primary rail lines. The inclusion of the County Farm near the city center provides a look at the social infrastructure of early 20th-century Warren County.