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1949 Map of Peotone

Name: 1949 Topographic Map of Peotone
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1949
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1949

About this map

The Illinois Central and Wabash RR corridors define the development of eastern Will County in the mid-1940s, connecting agricultural hubs like Peotone and Manhattan to the broader regional market. This landscape is remarkably dense with rural education and religious landmarks, featuring a grid of family-named schoolhouses such as Pfundstein Sch, Hansen Sch, and Hasenjager Sch that served the farming community before the era of school consolidation.

The presence of numerous small cemeteries and churches, including St Joseph Cem and West Peotone Ch, offers significant geographic context for local genealogy. Major watercourses like Rock Creek, Jackson Creek, and the Exline Slough provide the primary drainage for the surrounding prairie. While the northern edge captures the fringes of Frankfort, the map primarily details the rural character of townships between the Old Milwaukee Road and the Michigan Central rail lines.