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1947 Map of Parsons

Name: 1947 Topographic Map of Parsons
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1947
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1947

About this map

The industrial and rail hub of Parsons anchors this mid-century survey, revealing a landscape defined by its complex transportation network. The town serves as a major junction for the Missouri Kansas Texas and St Louis San Francisco railroads, which crisscross the prairie to connect outlying settlements like Dennis and Galesburg. Beyond the urban grid of the city, which includes the State Asylum and Circle Park, the map documents a dense network of rural infrastructure that was soon to change.

One distinctive insight is the high concentration of one-room schoolhouses, such as Sand Hill Sch and Maple Grove Sch, spaced at nearly every other section corner to serve the agricultural community. Notable landmarks like the Tacket Mound and Twin Mounds break the level terrain, while the Site of Wilsonton and Wilsonton Cem provide a look at a community already receding by the time of the 1944-1945 mapping.