1894 Map of Cheyenne Wells

About this map

Cheyenne Wells serves as a critical railroad hub in the high plains of eastern Colorado, positioned where the Union Pacific Railroad cuts a straight line through the semi-arid landscape. Surveyed in 1890, this terrain shows the early infrastructure of Cheyenne and Kiowa counties, where water sources dictated the path of settlement. The network of intermittent drainages, including the Smoky Hill River, Ladder Creek, and White Woman Creek, defines the geography of this frontier region. Near the Colorado Kansas Boundary Line, the small community of Arapahoe sits as a lonely outpost along the tracks. To the south, the isolated label for Water Valley near Big Sandy Creek marks one of the few named locales in an area otherwise dominated by the vast, open contours of the High Plains.