C.C.C. & St. L. Ry. Station Maps Cincinnati Div. Cincinnati to Monroe Book No. 5

This rare collection of railroad maps outlines numerous property claims along the route of the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago, and St. Louis Railway between Cincinnati and Monroe, Ohio. Each plan, drawn and colored by hand, outlines relevant railroad infrastructure, important measurements, and other notable geographic and industrial features.  The contents begin at the freight depot between Third and Front Streets, along the banks of the Ohio River. Red, green, and blue lines reflect the complex network of rails connecting inbound and outbound shipments. Interestingly, the second sheet presents the same area as the first, though rather than railroad infrastructure, the image presents property ownership records. Five additional maps show Big Four properties within the Cincinnati city limits, including a roundhouse, freight yards, etc. Lease information and ownership details are evidently important elements. Oddly, the maps of Brighton, the Stock Yards, Cumminsville, and Spring Grove are completely blank, apart from carefully crafted titles and borders. The title for Ludlow Grove has been hastily updated to C. & S. Junction, with the Proctor & Gamble Soap Company noted as a large landowner in the area. Based on the context of the binding, the various penciled annotations, and emphasis on real estate transactions/legal documentation, I suspect the atlas was an office copy for the Big Four Railroad to record and memorialize property transactions along the route in question.