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2012 Map of Rockport

Name: 2012 Topographic Map of Rockport
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 2012
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 2012

About this map

The Mississippi River floodplain defines this landscape along the Illinois and Missouri border, dominated by a complex network of sloughs, ditches, and islands. A massive hydraulic engineering system is evident through features like the Kiser Cr Diversion Ditch and the Horton-Dutch Creek Settling Basin, designed to manage the silt and flow of the bottomlands. These drainage efforts allowed for the cultivation of the fertile ground between The Sny and the river banks, where large islands such as North Fritz Island and Cottonwood Island remain prominent.

Local history is preserved in the numerous family and small community burial grounds scattered across the higher ground. Genealogists can identify specific sites such as Wallace Farm Com, Brewster Ross Cem, and the Hornback Cem near the eastern bluffs. The map captures the small settlements of Horton and Rockport at a time when the rural landscape remained deeply tied to the management of its water and agricultural heritage.