1950 Map of Fairfield

About this map

The irrigation-driven landscape of the Missouri River Basin project is clearly visible in this 1950s survey. The town of Fairfield serves as the central hub for a vast network of water engineering, including the Greenfield Main Canal and Greenfield South Canal, which transform the high plains into productive land. To the south, the Sun River meanders through the valley, passing the site of Fort Shaw and the Old Fort Shaw Cem (Historic), providing a window into the region's 19th-century military history. Transport routes are well-defined, showing the competing rail lines of the Great Northern and the Chicago Milwaukee St Paul and Pacific. The contrast between the flat Bole Bench and the southern coulees, such as Blackfoot Coulee and Mill Coulee, illustrates the distinct transition from the plateau to the river bottomlands.