2018 Map of Turtle Creek NW

About this map

Turtle Creek winds through the heart of this McLean County landscape, carving a drainage pattern through the glacial prairie south of Lake Ordway. The area is characterized by the structured grid of the Public Land Survey System, where section lines dictate the paths of rural routes like 5th St NW and Co Hwy 16. The presence of the Bethal Baptist Cem and the Philbrick Private Airstrip indicates a quiet, established rural community centered on family landholdings and small-scale transit. Of particular interest to modern hikers and historians is the N Country National Scenic Trail, which meanders across the eastern sections of the quadrangle, following the natural contours of the land rather than the rigid township grid, offering a rare diagonal contrast to the surrounding agricultural geometry.