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1949 Map of Box Butte SW

Name: 1949 Topographic Map of Box Butte SW
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1949
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1949

About this map

Running Water and Nonpareil define the high plains landscape of Box Butte County in this mid-century topographic record. The terrain is characterized by a network of seasonal drainages including the North Branch and South Branch, which converge as they move through the central sections of the quadrangle. The Bureau of Reclamation was actively involved in this region, which was mapped via aerial photographs taken in 1939 and updated with plane-table methods in 1947.

Rural life in the late 1940s is anchored by isolated educational outposts such as School No 36 and School No 10, which served the scattered agricultural community. The path of Box Butte Creek meanders across the southern half of the sheet, providing a vital geographic marker alongside Hemingford Creek. These waterways and named geographic regions like Box Butte illustrate the transition from open range to a structured township-and-range system.