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1892 Map of Savanna

Name: 1892 Topographic Map of Savanna
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1905
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1905

About this map

The Mississippi River corridor dominates this late 19th-century survey, revealing a landscape defined by the convergence of major midwestern rail lines and river trade. At the center of the sheet, Savanna sits at a critical junction where the Chicago Burlington and Northern Railroad and the Chicago Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad meet the water. Across the Illinois Iowa Boundary Line, the town of Sabula occupies a narrow peninsula, illustrating the close relationship between these riverfront communities.

Inland, the terrain rises into the rolling hills of Jo Daviess and Carroll counties, where a network of smaller drainages like Straddle Creek and the Plum River feed into the Mississippi. Small rural clusters such as Massbach and Pleasant Valley represent the agricultural hinterland, while features like Idens Lake and Dyson Lake mark the wetlands of the river valley. The map documents the intricate rail spurs and local roads that connected these upland farming areas to the industrial hubs along the shore.