1962 Map of West Chicago

About this map

West Chicago serves as the industrial and transit anchor of this 1962 landscape, where five major rail lines converge. The Chicago and North Western and Elgin Joliet and Eastern railroads create a dense grid of tracks through the city center, while smaller stops like Munger Station and Prince Crossing dot the outlying agricultural areas. The West Branch of the Du Page River winds through the central terrain, bordered by the Wayne Grove Forest Preserve and Pratt Wayne Woods Forest Preserve. This era captures a mix of established rural institutions and suburban expansion, evidenced by the Wheaton College Academy and Christ the King Seminary standing alongside emerging residential developments in Carol Stream and Streamwood. Numerous burial grounds, including the Old Ontarioville Cem and the unique Illinois Pet Cemetery, offer specific points of interest for local historians.