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1948 Map of Muscatine

Name: 1948 Topographic Map of Muscatine
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1948
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1948

About this map

The Mississippi River dominates this mid-century survey, defining the state boundary between Iowa and Illinois. Near Muscatine, the riverine landscape is a complex of side channels and islands, including Blanchard Island and Kilpeck Island, while the eastern floodplain is heavily modified by an extensive drainage system. This network, featuring the Hampton Ditch, Main Ditch, and Eliza Lake Ditch Cutoff, illustrates the transition of the lowlands into productive agricultural territory.

Settlement patterns are represented by small rural hubs like Excelsior and several localized schoolhouses such as Lillibridge Sch and Lone Elm Sch. A significant portion of the western sheet is noted as an Unsurveyed Area, contrasting with the detailed mapping of the river's eastern banks and the various sloughs and chutes, like Bogus Chute and Prentis Slough, which characterized the riparian environment before modern waterway management.