It won't take much reminding, but the Loudmouth really is a geek. I collect old road maps and took the time a while back to scan a gas station map from the 1930's on the Northland.
If you look where the A and T meet, that is labeled as the town of Drennon and is where Green Hills and Barry Road intersect. US 169 on the map is now North Oak. Routes T, A, and H are Barry Road. Bypass 71 is Cookingham. Route W is Skyview.
It's hard to see but if you look in the lower right hand corner, one can see where Bypass 71 (now MO-291) crossed over the Missouri River at the northern bluff of the river valley (labeled Liberty Bridge). When the old northbound MO-291 bridge was built, the bridge was built over dry land and once it was complete, the Missouri River was straightened to flow under the bridge. The next time you travel 291 or 210, you will see signs that say "Jackson County" even though you haven't crossed the river. The county boundaries were established before the thought of moving the river was ever considered. MoDOT had to build a bridge over the old river bed east of 291 and the gas station but it's labeled as Shoal Creek. That is the original Missouri River channel.
Back to Platte County. One of the things that isn't really well known is that Route 45 stopped at Route 9. It wasn't until the 1960's that Route 45 was extended to I-29. When you drive that route, the hills are as dramatic as Route 45 is west of Route 9. The reason for this is the newer section was engineered to current design standards and the older section was built where the carriage or cow path existed.
In the middle, the town of Linden is where 72nd and Troost meet and was the predecessor to Gladstone. My favorite town on this map is the old hitching post of Acme which would be located just north of Happy Rock Park on the road that leads by Gladstone's Public Works Department and leaf and brush drop off site and winds north along Spruce. I wonder why no one ever thought to open the Wil E Coyote historical anvil shop and charge unsuspecting out-of-town tourists to come see it.
If you look in the lower left middle of the map, you can see a road on the west side of Line Creek and north of Northmoor. That road is what is being turned into the Line Creek Trail. The reason why the trail is so flat and perfectly graded between the Ice Rink and NW 68th Street is that the trail is that old road.
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