Loading map...

1962 Map of Federal

Name: 1962 Topographic Map of Federal
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1978
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1978

About this map

The settlement of Federal and the high plains of Laramie County are defined by a complex network of water management and rail transport in this mid-century survey. The landscape is marked by the winding courses of Lodgepole Creek and South Lodgepole Creek, which supported early ranching operations like the Islay Ranch and King-Merritt Ranch. The agricultural reliance on irrigation is evident through a series of engineered water features, including Chadwick Ditch No 1, Chadwick Ditch No 2, and Dyer Ditch No 8, which feed the Chadwick Res No 1 and Chadwick Res No 2.

Transportation through this high-altitude corridor is anchored by the Colorado and Southern railroad, which parallels the creek beds. Topographic markers such as the Cheyenne West Base provide a glimpse into the precise geodetic surveying of the era, while the presence of a Gravel Pit near the rail line suggests local industrial activity. Purple revisions added in the 1970s reveal the evolution of the road network and man-made structures over a decade of change.