1951 Map of Bucklin Reservoirs

About this map

The Oregon California Trail and the Emigrant Road cut a historic diagonal across this high desert landscape, tracing the ancestral path of westward migration through central Wyoming. In the early 1950s, this area north of the Natrona and Carbon County line remained dominated by a ranching economy, with family-named operations like the Cross L Ranch, Crane Ranch, and Turkey Track Ranch scattered along the Sweetwater River. The river's winding course is supported by a system of irrigation, though traces of earlier efforts like the Y Z Ditch (Abandoned) appear alongside more modern features like the Bucklin Reservoirs. The presence of several Windmills and a Gravel Pit indicate the essential infrastructure required to sustain life and travel between the distinctive Sweetwater Rocks and Soda Lake.