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1965 Map of St. Mary

Name: 1965 Topographic Map of St. Mary
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1968
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1968

About this map

The North Fork Big Nemaha River carves a prominent valley through this section of Johnson County, dictating the placement of both rail and road infrastructure in the mid-1960s. The Chicago Burlington and Quincy Railroad runs diagonally across the landscape, connecting the town of Sterling in the northwest to the smaller settlement of St. Mary. This rail-oriented corridor is punctuated by local landmarks like the Sterling Cem and St. Mary Cem, which serve as vital points for genealogical research.

Agricultural patterns are defined by numerous tributaries such as Pratts Branch, Silver Creek, and Deer Creek, which feed into the primary river system. In the southern reaches, the smaller community of Beatty sits near the winding Yankee Creek. The map documents a classic Midwestern rural landscape where early townships like Helena and Vesta organized the territory into a grid of section lines and farmstead access points.