1983 Map of Elm Creek Ranch

About this map

Elm Creek Ranch sits at the heart of this Pennington and Haakon County borderland, where the open landscape is defined by the winding course of Lake Creek and its southern tributaries. The map documents a sparsely settled ranching region in the early 1980s, punctuated by family-named terrain like Hubbard Hill and Bliss Hill. The reliance on local aviation in this remote territory is evident from the inclusion of the Clark Landing Strip and the Hoffman Landing Strip, which provided essential access to these isolated properties. Drainages such as Poeno Creek and Lost Draw cut through the high plains, illustrating the complex natural irrigation and erosion patterns that shaped South Dakota's livestock industry during this era.