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1949 Map of Walnut

Name: 1949 Topographic Map of Walnut
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1949
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1949

About this map

Walnut and the surrounding agricultural townships of Bureau, Lee, and Whiteside counties are documented here just after the Second World War. The landscape is defined by an extensive network of drainage projects designed to manage the Green River basin, including the Feeder Canal, Five Mile Ditch, and Special Ditch. These engineering efforts facilitated the growth of small rail-side communities like Harmon, Deer Grove, and Normandy, which served as local hubs for the numerous rural schools peppered across the grid.

Local genealogy and social history are prominent throughout the survey, with over twenty named schoolhouses such as Merchant Sch, Lyon Sch, and Maple Grove Sch marking the centers of early community life. Small country parishes and burial grounds like Holy Cross Ch and Centenary Cem appear alongside the Chicago Burlington And Quincy RR, which provided the vital transport link for this farming region. The northeastern corner shows the Green River Wildlife Refuge, indicating the early conservation of the river's natural wetlands amidst the surrounding productive fields.