Loading map...

1952 Map of Savanna

Name: 1952 Topographic Map of Savanna
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1977
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1977

About this map

The Mississippi River corridor dominates this 1950s landscape, where the massive Savanna Ordnance Depot and the Upper Mississippi River Wildlife and Fish Refuge occupy the complex riverfront terrain of sloughs and islands. The city of Savanna serves as a critical rail hub, where the Chicago Burlington and Quincy and Chicago Milwaukee St Paul and Pacific railroads converge along the bluffs.

Upland from the river, the transition from industrial and military activity to rural agriculture is marked by a high density of country schools and churches. Many of these local landmarks, such as Little Union Sch and Clifton Sch, were already noted as abandoned by the early 1950s, reflecting the consolidation of rural districts. The map preserves the locations of early family-named cemeteries like Fehler Cem and Pay Cem, providing a detailed look at the settlement patterns of Jo Daviess and Carroll counties before mid-century modernization.