1964 Map of Selma

About this map

Mississippi River transport and rail connections dominate this riverfront landscape along the border of Missouri and Illinois. In the early 1960s, the river remains a massive geographic force, defined here by Calico Island and Harlow Island. Along the Missouri banks, the Burlington Northern railroad serves industrial and community nodes, connecting the riverfront at Selma (Sta) and Rush Tower. On the bluff overlooking the water, the St Joseph Ursuline Novitiate and Selma Sch mark the institutional footprint of the area. Across the state line in Illinois, the rail-oriented settlement at Maeys (Maeystown Sta) and the crossing at Chalfin Bridge sit in the low-lying bottoms protected by the Selma Ditch. The map reveals a transition between the elevated topography of Buck Knob and the broad floodplains that dictated the placement of local infrastructure and ferry landings like Kemper Landing.