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1915 Map of Ottawa

Name: 1915 Topographic Map of Ottawa
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1923
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1923

About this map

The confluence of the Illinois River and Vermilion River serves as the focal point for this 1915 survey of LaSalle County. At the center, the city of Ottawa is depicted as a bustling industrial and transit hub, crisscrossed by several rail lines including the Chicago Ottawa and Peoria Electric and the Chicago Burlington and Quincy RR. The presence of the Illinois and Michigan Canal and its feeder from Dayton underscores the era's reliance on waterway engineering for trade and power.

To the west, the landscape transforms at Starved Rock State Park, where the river is lined with distinctive formations like Buffalo Rock and intricate topography such as French Canyon and Tonti Canyon. The surrounding countryside is densely populated with small rural institutions, including dozens of numbered district schools like School No 237 and uniquely named sites such as Hickory College and the Chautauqua Grounds near the city's edge.