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2022 Map of New Diggings

Name: 2022 Topographic Map of New Diggings
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 2022
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 2022

About this map

The Galena River and its numerous tributaries, including Diggins Cr and Ellis Br, carve through the driftless landscape of Lafayette County. This map documents a region deeply rooted in the nineteenth-century mining rush, centered around settlements like New Diggings and Lead Mine. The persistence of these small communities, alongside Etna and White Oak, illustrates a rural settlement pattern that has endured long after the height of the mineral extraction era.

Genealogists can trace early residents through several established burial grounds, most notably the Old White Oak Springs Village Cem, as well as the Masonic Cem and Shawnee Cem. The terrain is crisscrossed by family-named roads like Morrissey Rd and Palfrey Rd, while larger hubs such as Benton and Shullsburg sit at the margins of this agricultural and historical corridor near the Wisconsin-Illinois state line.