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1894 Map of Castle Rock

Name: 1894 Topographic Map of Castle Rock
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1898
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1898

About this map

Castle Rock stands as the central landmark in this late nineteenth-century reconnaissance of the Front Range foothills and plains. The map illustrates a landscape transitioning from the steep grades of Mt Herman to the dendritic drainage basins of Cherry Creek and Kiowa Creek. This era of development is defined by the competing paths of the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad and the Denver and New Orleans Railroad, which carved essential transit corridors through the drainage of Plum Creek and beyond.

Key settlements like Elizabeth, Monument, and Sedalia are positioned along these vital rail and water routes. Of particular historical interest is the presence of the Castlewood Dam on Cherry Creek, shown here just years after its original construction. From the high points at Dawson Butte and Raspberry Butte to the southern reaches near Eastonville, the map provides a look at the early township and range infrastructure before modern suburban expansion transformed the corridor between Denver and Colorado Springs.