1949 Map of Norwich

About this map

The Great Northern railroad corridor defines the development of this McHenry County landscape, connecting the small settlements of Norwich and Genoa across the northern plains. This late 1940s survey reveals a traditional agrarian layout, where local life centered around rural institutions such as School No 1 and the North Prairie Ch. The topography consists of numerous small depressions and rises, characteristic of the glaciated prairie, which dictated the winding paths of local roads and the placement of farmsteads. Surveyed as part of the Department of the Interior program for the development of the Missouri River Basin, the map documents the administrative divisions of Norwich, North Prairie, Hendrickson, and Granville townships just as aerial photography began to modernize topographical mapping techniques.