1956 Map of Cottonwood Creek NW

About this map

The Grand River meanders sharply through this 1956 landscape within the Standing Rock Indian Reservation, its winding course defining the geography of southern Corson County. The terrain is characterized by the upland plateaus of Sherman and Riverside, which rise above the drainage networks of Cedar Boy Creek and Meadow Creek. This mid-century survey, based on aerial photography from the development of the Missouri River Basin, reveals a sparsely settled region where the small cluster at Wagner and isolated homesteads rely on the natural contours of the valley. To the south, Black Horse Creek feeds into the rugged breaks, illustrating the complex hydrology that influenced movement and settlement patterns long before modern irrigation changed the basin.