1953 Map of New Windsor

About this map

Agricultural plains and coal-rich corners define this mid-century look at the border of Mercer, Henry, and Knox Counties. The village of New Windsor (Windsor) serves as a primary hub, organized along the east-west corridor of the Chicago Burlington and Quincy railroad. To the east, the village of Alpha sits near the Alpha Coal Mine (abandoned), where prominent tailings piles signify the area's industrial past. A dispersed rural social infrastructure is evident through numerous country schoolhouses, including Hopewell School, Oakridge School, and Maple Ridge School, most of which were phased out as education consolidated toward larger centers like the Atwood Junior High School. Waterways such as North Pope Creek and Pope Creek cut through the landscape, flanked by timbered tracts that break up the grid of section lines and gravel roads like Knoxville Road.