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1951 Map of Brush West

Name: 1951 Topographic Map of Brush West
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1970
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1970

About this map

The South Platte River corridor dominates this 1951 study of Morgan County, revealing an intricate network of irrigation vital to the high plains agricultural economy. The landscape is defined by human engineering, where the Upper Platte and Beaver Canal, Riverside Canal, and Snyder and Curry Canal divert water across the valley to support local ranching and farming. In the southern portion of the map, the town of Brush serves as a regional hub, anchored by the Eben-Ezer Hospital and served by two major rail lines: the Union Pacific and the Chicago Burlington and Quincy.

Beyond the primary settlements of Brush and Lodi, the map documents rural social infrastructure, including the Colwell School and Morey School. The terrain is marked by numerous Windmills, highlighting the reliance on groundwater away from the primary river channels like Wildcat Creek and Badger Creek. This survey captures the region at a point of established maturity, where rail-and-river logistics converged to sustain prairie life.