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1955 Map of Elk Mountain SW

Name: 1955 Topographic Map of Elk Mountain SW
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1971
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1971

About this map

High-altitude ranching and the complex management of Wyoming’s high-country water define this mid-century look at Carbon County. The landscape is marked by the presence of several established family properties, including Cheesbrough Ranch, Ollikalla Ranch, and Palm Ranch, which supported the livestock economy of the Pass Creek Basin. An intricate network of irrigation systems like the Highland Ditch and Haglund Ditch lace the terrain, demonstrating the vital engineering required to move water from the Medicine Bow River and its tributaries to these remote homesteads.

The northern reaches of the sheet reveal signs of earlier settlement at Milo (Aband) and Widdowfield (Aband), both identified as abandoned by the time of the 1955 field check. Further south, the map transitions into the Medicine Bow National Forest, where the Bow Ranger Station stands near the confluence of the river and Turpin Creek. Small-scale industry is present through scattered sites like a Gravel Pit and a lone Mine, while the Richardson Airstrip provides a rare link to the wider world in this isolated terrain.