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1961 Map of Wathena

Name: 1961 Topographic Map of Wathena
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1983
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1983

About this map

The Missouri River defines the landscape of this Doniphan County region, creating wide alluvial plains known as Burr Oak Bottom, Gladden Bottom, and French Bottom. This 1961 survey, photorevised in 1972, documents a transition from the agricultural river flats to the dissected loess bluffs. The settlement at Wathena serves as a focal point near the convergence of the Chicago Rock Island and Pacific and Union Pacific railroads.

Genealogists will find a dense distribution of rural burial sites and institutions, including the Columbus Cem, Moskau Cem, and Zion Ch. The presence of numerous Quarries along the bluffs indicates the local extraction industry, while the Rosecrans Memorial Airport and the community of Elwood mark the eastern extent of the map where Kansas meets Missouri. Significant natural features like Browning Lake and Smith Creek illustrate the historical drainage patterns of the Missouri floodplain prior to modern developments.