1948 Map of Smithfield

About this map

The Camp Ellis Military Reservation dominates the southern landscape of this Fulton County quadrangle, showing the footprint of the World War II-era training camp just as it appeared in the late 1940s. Complete with its grid of barracks and the Camp Ellis Landing Strip, the reservation occupies former farmland north of the Spoon River. To the north, the Toledo Peoria and Western railroad corridor links the rural settlements of Seville and Smithfield, serving as a vital artery for the region's agricultural economy. The map is particularly rich for genealogical research, documenting numerous one-room schoolhouses like the Little Brick School and Howerter Sch, along with family-named burial sites such as Fuller Cem and Baughman Cem. These landmarks, along with crossings like Bernadotte Bridge, illustrate a tightly knit community structure defined by small townships and local rural institutions during the mid-century period.