Loading map...

1936 Map of Nashville

Name: 1936 Topographic Map of Nashville
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1936
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1936

About this map

The Kaskaskia River and its meandering oxbow lakes, including Big Flat Lake and Horseshoe Lake, define the northern boundary of this Washington County landscape. At the center of the sheet, the county seat of Nashville serves as a major hub for the Louisville and Nashville Railroad and the Illinois Missouri Railroad. This period of the 1930s shows an exceptionally dense network of rural one-room schoolhouses, such as Hogshead Sch, Sassafras Sch, and Nuptial Sch, which reflect the localized social structure of Illinois farming communities before mid-century school consolidations.

To the south, the prominent rise of Pilot Knob stands out against the surrounding prairies and creek bottoms. The map documents early regional travel routes like the Covington Bridge and State Highway No 15, connecting smaller settlements like New Minden and Addieville. For genealogists, the map is a precise record of vanished rural landmarks, from the Locust Creek Cem to family-named features like Lanes Lake and McKelvey Sch.