1943 Map of Colby

About this map

The High Plains of Thomas County at the height of World War II are defined by a strictly surveyed grid of section lines and the vital passage of two major transcontinental railroads. Colby serves as the regional hub where the Union Pacific and the Chicago Rock Island and Pacific converge, creating a vital junction for the agricultural economy. The landscape is punctuated by a network of one-room schoolhouses that served the surrounding farmstead townships, including Abilene Sch, Lone Willow Sch, and the descriptively named Soddy Sch in the southern reaches of the quadrangle. While US Highway No 24 and State Highway No 25 facilitate regional travel, the underlying drainage of the South Fork Solomon River and Prairie Dog Creek provides the only break in the geometric regularity of the prairie, marking the seasonal watercourses essential to early settlement.