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1951 Map of Oberlin

Name: 1951 Topographic Map of Oberlin
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1952
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1952

About this map

Oberlin serves as the focal point of this 1951 topographic survey of Decatur County, situated at the confluence of Sappa Creek and the railroad lines of the CB&Q. The map reveals a post-war rural landscape organized around the Chicago Burlington and Quincy tracks, which connect small settlements like Traer and Cedar Bluffs. The distribution of School No 11, Mt Pleasant Sch, and Addleman Sch alongside numerous country churches and cemeteries, such as St Johns Ch and Fairview Cem, provides a detailed record of mid-century community life and genealogy.

Water management and local infrastructure are prominently featured, from the Sewage Disposal and County Hospital in the county seat to the sprawling Oberlin-Sappa State Park to the east. The terrain is defined by drainage systems like Johnson Draw, Lambs Draw, and Quincy Draw, which feed into the forks of Sappa Creek. This record captures the region just as it was being mapped for the Department of the Interior's Missouri River Basin development program, documenting everything from the Municipal Airport to local gravel pits.