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1924 Map of Paxton

Name: 1924 Topographic Map of Paxton
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1953
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1953

About this map

Paxton and Rantoul anchor this mid-1920s survey of the Illinois prairie, capturing a landscape defined by industrial rail lines and the early military aviation presence at Chanute Flying Field. The area is a dense grid of agricultural development, revealed by the extraordinary number of rural schoolhouses such as Trickel Grove School, Lily Dell School, and McMaster School that once served these townships.

The Illinois Central and New York Chicago and St Louis railroads intersect at Paxton, driving the growth of smaller grain stops like Ludlow, Gifford, and Perdueville. Waterways like the Vermilion River and Wildcat Slough cut through the geometric section lines, while several established burial grounds including Glen Cemetery and Holy Sepulchre Cemetery provide critical data points for genealogists tracing the early families of Ford and Champaign Counties.