1894 Map of Cheyenne Wells

About this map

Cheyenne Wells serves as a central hub for this High Plains landscape, where the iron rails of the Union Pacific Railroad cut a straight path toward the Colorado Kansas border. Surveyed in 1890, the map illustrates a network of wagon roads radiating from the rail line to outlying points like Arapahoe and the southern settlement of Water Valley. The hydrology of the region is defined by ephemeral drainages including Smoky Creek, Ladder Creek, and the curiously named White Woman Creek. This 1890s topography reveals how early settlement patterns in Cheyenne and Kiowa counties were dictated by the dual necessities of railway access and the seasonal water courses that cross the shortgrass prairie.