1963 Map of Bala

About this map

The Bala settlement and surrounding agricultural townships of Highland, Bala, Grant, and Madison define this rural landscape on the border of Clay Co and Riley Co. This early 1960s survey documents a critical period of geographic change as the southwestern corner prepared for the creation of the Milford Reservoir, with blue hatching indicating areas slated for submergence or controlled inundation. Local community life is rooted at Grange Hall and Bethany Ch, while the Bala Cem serves as a vital record for family historians. The Chicago Rock Island and Pacific railroad bisects the terrain, supporting a local economy that included an Oil Well and a stone Quarry. Meandering waterways like Mall Creek, Timber Creek, and Dry Creek continue to shape the drainage of these Kansas uplands before they reach the Republican River basin.