1963 Map of West Salem

About this map

West Salem sits at the heart of this landscape where the La Crosse River valley meets the complex coulees of the driftless region. In the early 1960s, the village was a busy junction of the Chicago Milwaukee St Paul and Pacific and the Chicago and North Western railroads. To the east, the La Crosse River feeds into Neshonoc Lake, a significant water feature bordered by Swarthout Park and the Neshonoc Cem. The map reveals a transition in transportation as the modern interstate era begins, with a segment of road labeled Under Construction south of the village. Numerous rural schools like Bell Coulee Sch and Walker Sch serve the outlying farming townships of Farmington and Burns, while the County Fairground and County Hospital establish West Salem as a regional hub for La Crosse County.