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1894 Map of Wamego

Name: 1894 Topographic Map of Wamego
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1918
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1918

About this map

The Kansas River meanders across this late 19th-century landscape, serving as the central artery for a region defined by its competing railroad lines and river-bottom settlements. Surveyor W. J. Peters documented a dense network of townships and small towns during the mid-1880s, capturing the area as the Union Pacific Railroad and the Chicago Rock Island & Pacific Railroad established their respective corridors through Pottawatomie and Wabaunsee counties.

Major hubs like Wamego and Alma appear alongside smaller crossroads such as Moodyville and Newbury. The topography reveals the transition from the river valley to the surrounding uplands, marked by features like Buffalo Mound and the winding course of the Vermillion River. For researchers, the map provides an exacting view of early township boundaries, including Shannon, St Clere, and Zeandale, while tracing numerous creeks like Deep Creek and Antelope Creek that dictated early farmstead placement.