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1936 Map of Prophetstown

Name: 1936 Topographic Map of Prophetstown
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1936
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1936

About this map

The Rock River winds through the northern portion of this landscape, its banks defined by complex waterways like Hamilton Slough and Walker Slough. In the mid-1930s, this region of Whiteside County was a dense network of rural school districts and small rail-served hubs. The village of Prophetstown serves as a central anchor, where the Chicago Burlington and Quincy railroad crosses the river. Southward, the terrain transitions into a highly engineered drainage landscape, marked by County Ditch No 1 and County Ditch No 2, which reclaimed the lowlands for agriculture.

Genealogists will find a wealth of local landmarks, including the St Marys Cem near Hooppole and an extraordinary concentration of country schools such as Benton St Sch, Cloverdale Sch, and Sunnyside Sch. The map also preserves the path of the Old Indian Boundary Line and the Old Indian Trail, offering a clear view of how earlier transit corridors and land divisions persisted into the era of State Highway No 92.