1962 Map of Beaverhead Rock SW

About this map

The boundary between Beaverhead Co and Madison Co bisects a landscape of high-elevation ranching and complex irrigation in the early 1960s. Agriculture in this part of Montana relied heavily on man-made water systems, as evidenced by the East Bench Canal and a network of private waterworks like the Staudaher-Bishop Ditch and the Brown Larson Ditch. These diversions managed runoff from the surrounding peaks, feeding the valley floor where the Diamond O Ranch and smaller operations were established. The presence of natural features like Charlton Slough and Willow Spring Creek alongside industrial markers like the Gravel Pit illustrates the era's balance of resource extraction and cattle ranching. The map also captures infrastructure in progress, including a prominent road noted as being (Under Construction) across the drainage of Trout Creek.