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1894 Map of Oxford

Name: 1894 Topographic Map of Oxford
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1894
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1894

About this map

Oxford stands as a primary hub of activity in this nineteenth-century Iowa landscape, positioned at a critical junction of the Chicago Rock Island and Pacific Railroad. The rail line cuts through the northern townships, contrasting with the more isolated settlement of Windham to the southeast. Much of the terrain is defined by a dense network of watercourses, including the central Old Mans Creek and its North Branch, which drain the rolling agricultural lands of Johnson County.

In the southern reaches, the North English River marks a significant geographic boundary, fed by small tributaries like Miller Creek and Teener Creek. To the west, the Chicago Milwaukee and St Paul Railroad skirts the edge of the survey area. This 1888 survey, published under director J.W. Powell, records the late-century transition from a purely agrarian river-and-creek landscape to a region increasingly shaped by the expanding steam-rail economy.