1981 Map of Burlington

About this map

Burlington and its neighboring High Plains communities are defined by the linear progress of the Chicago Rock Island and Pacific railroad, which strings together the grain-handling towns of Bethune, Stratton, and Vona across eastern Kit Carson County. This early 1980s landscape illustrates a high-plains economy organized around rail transport and sparse water resources, such as the South Fork Republican River and Landsman Creek. To the east, the state line is marked by Kanorado, while further south, the terrain rises toward Mount Sunflower on the Kansas border. The map also records civil infrastructure like the Municipal Airport and the State Rec Area at Flagler Reservoir, showing how water management and aviation supported these agricultural hubs. The presence of the namesake Settlement and Tuttle reflects the late-century rural footprint of this Colorado-Kansas borderland.