1951 Map of Anselmo

About this map

The Anselmo townsite and its surrounding Sandhills valleys are documented here at the mid-century point, illustrating the rural structure of Custer County. The Burlington Northern railroad cuts a diagonal line through the landscape, linking the small grid of Anselmo to the agricultural valleys of New Hope Valley and Dale Valley. The map reveals a community-focused geography defined by a network of rural schoolhouses and cemeteries, such as Maroney Sch, Keota Sch, and Dale Sch, which served the scattered farmsteads of Kilfoil and Ortello Valley. To the northeast, the transition from ranch land to recreation is evident at Victoria Springs State Park, located near the settlement of New Helena and the winding Victoria Creek. This survey provides a precise record of the schools and family burial grounds that anchored Nebraska's central prairie communities before many rural institutions were consolidated.