Old Map of Long Grove, Illinois by USGS, 1928 – Wheeling, Buffalo Grove & Des Plaines River

Titled “Wheeling,” this 1928 US Geological Survey topographical map presents Long Grove, Wheeling, Buffalo Grove, and the surrounding Illinois landscape at a revealing moment in the region’s history. At 1:24,000 scale, it captures the fine grain of roads, waterways, settlements, and relief with the disciplined precision for which USGS quadrangles are renowned. The map belongs to an era when northeastern Illinois still balanced rural character with the first strong pressures of metropolitan expansion from Chicago. Long Grove appears within a landscape of farms, small communities, local roads, drainage courses, and open land, offering a richly detailed view of Lake County and nearby areas before later suburban growth transformed the region.

The US Geological Survey brought a distinctive authority to maps such as this, combining field observation, standardized symbology, and careful measurement into a coherent national mapping project. Founded in the nineteenth century to survey the lands, resources, and geology of the United States, the USGS became indispensable to engineers, planners, landowners, and public agencies. In “Wheeling,” that institutional rigor is visible in every contour line, stream course, road trace, and settlement mark. The map is not merely a navigational aid, but a record of the American landscape as surveyed and understood by federal cartographers, preserving the physical and human geography of a specific place at a specific time.

The topographic character of the map is especially compelling. Contour lines articulate the subtle rises and depressions of the Illinois terrain, giving shape to a landscape that might otherwise seem gently level at first glance. Wetlands, water bodies, and smaller drainage channels reveal the hydrological fabric of the area, including the influence of the Des Plaines River and its associated lowlands. Such details illuminate how water, elevation, and soil helped determine patterns of roads, farms, settlement, and open space. The map’s careful depiction of natural features makes it possible to read the region as a living terrain, shaped by glacial history, drainage patterns, and practical human use.

The towns and routes shown evoke a northern Illinois still defined by local connections rather than continuous suburban development. Wheeling, Long Grove, and Buffalo Grove appear amid a network of roads, rural parcels, waterways, and emerging transportation corridors. Routes such as 83 and 45 point to the growing importance of automobile travel and regional movement during the late 1920s, a period when paved roads and improved highways were beginning to reshape daily life. Railways and road symbols, rendered in the familiar USGS visual language, anchor the map in the infrastructure of its time, while smaller trails and local routes suggest the intimate geography of community movement.

Historically, “Wheeling” offers a valuable portrait of land use before the dramatic postwar expansion of Chicago’s northern and northwestern suburbs. Areas that would later become more densely developed are shown here with a quieter, more open character, where villages, farms, wetlands, and green spaces still structured the landscape. For Long Grove in particular, the map provides insight into the setting that helped define its later identity: wooded roads, rural surroundings, and a close relationship between settlement and natural terrain. As a document of the late 1920s, it captures a transitional moment, poised between agricultural Illinois and the suburban geography that would increasingly dominate the decades to come.

Cities, towns and places on this map

• Long Grove
• Wheeling
• Buffalo Grove
• Lake County
• Des Plaines River
• Roads including:
• Route 83
• Route 45
• Various parks and green spaces
• Smaller local trails and waterways
• Contour areas indicating elevation changes
• Adjacent neighborhoods and rural areas

Historical context & cartographic details

• Produced by the US Geological Survey (USGS).
• Created in 1928.
• Historical 1:24,000 topographical map showing Long Grove, Illinois, and the surrounding area.
• The USGS is known for creating detailed maps based on geographic and topographic surveys, supporting land use planning and resource management.
• Features contour lines indicating elevation changes and the topography of the area.
• Includes traditional USGS cartographic symbols for roads, railways, and water bodies.
• Highlighted wetlands and water bodies show the hydrology of the area.
• Reflects the geographical layout of the area in the late 1920s, including land use and infrastructure development.
• Useful for observing later changes such as urban development and shifts in land use.

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With its rich detail and strong sense of place, this map makes a considered gift for a new home, anniversary, retirement or anyone with a personal connection to the area shown. Still deciding? Explore our collection of rare old and vintage maps to discover another place, period or style.