1950 Map of Cliff Lake

About this map

Wolf Creek Ranch and Sun Ranch anchor the northern reaches of this mid-century livestock and recreation landscape. The area is defined by the high elevations of Granite Mountain and the Horn Mtns, where the economy shifted from seasonal grazing at sites like Miller Cow Camp and Shackelford Cow Camp toward a burgeoning tourism industry. Establishments such as Snowball Inn, Madison River Lodge, and Elliots Resort reflect the postwar era's focus on the outdoors, particularly around the shores of Cliff Lake and the Madison River. Surveyed as part of the Department of the Interior's Missouri River Basin development program, this map captures the remote character of Madison Co. before modern expansion, showing a network of named lodges and ranches including Schusters Place and Kirby Ranch that provided base camps for hunters and fishermen within the Beaverhead National Forest.