1962 Map of St. Rose

About this map

St Rose serves as a central hub in this early 1960s topographic survey of the Illinois prairie, where the boundaries of Madison, Bond, and Clinton counties intersect. The landscape is defined by its drainage patterns, with Shoal Creek winding along the eastern edge and the Lake Branch carving through the center. Small rural clusters like Jamestown and Sebastopol are connected by a grid of section-line roads, illustrating the organized agricultural development of the era. Genealogists will find particular value in the documentation of the Lake Branch Cemetery and Bethany Church, which served the outlying farmstead communities. The map captures the region's transition from purely rural townships like Helvetia and Burgess into a more modernized post-war rural landscape, just as photogrammetric methods were refining local cartography.