Loading map...

1893 Map of Ellis

Name: 1893 Topographic Map of Ellis
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1893
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1893

About this map

The Smoky Hill River carves an undulating path through the heart of the Kansas high plains, defined here by the steep breaks of Cedar Bluff and the narrow corridor of Cedar Gorge. Surveyed in the early 1890s, the landscape is organized by two vital east-west transport corridors: the Union Pacific Railroad in the north, serving the hub of Ellis, and the Missouri Pacific Railroad crossing through the southern townships.

Settlement patterns reveal the systematic grid of the frontier, with emerging townsites like Ransom, Brownell, and Mc Cracken positioned along the rail lines. Notable landmarks such as Round Mound and the Round House provided orientation for early travelers across this open terrain. The drainage network, including Big Creek and Wildon Draw, illustrates the intricate erosion patterns of the Trego and Ellis County borderlands before the era of modern irrigation and large-scale reservoir construction.