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1948 Map of Oswego

Name: 1948 Topographic Map of Oswego
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1948
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1948

About this map

The Neosho River meanders through the heart of this southeast Kansas landscape, serving as a focal point for the settlement patterns of Labette and Cherokee Counties in the 1940s. The city of Oswego sits prominently on the river's western bluffs, while the southern town of Chetopa serves as a vital junction near the Oklahoma border. A significant portion of the northern terrain is occupied by the Kansas Ordnance Plant Area, illustrating the impact of mid-century industrial and military infrastructure on the rural prairie.

Extensive coal mining operations are evident across the eastern reaches, with numerous strip mines dotting the landscape between Oswego and the St Louis San Francisco Railway. For the family historian, the map preserves the locations of over two dozen rural schoolhouses, including the Mosquito Valley Sch and Pioneer Sch, alongside many small family and community burial grounds such as Garrison Cem and Mason Cem. The dense network of the Missouri Pacific Railroad and other lines highlights the region's historical role as a transportation and extraction corridor.