1949 Map of Fessenden SW

About this map

Saint Anna and West Ontario townships define this section of the Missouri River Basin during the late 1940s, a landscape shaped by glacial depressions and prairie water bodies. The terrain is characterized by numerous small lakes and drainages, most notably Cottonwood Lake and the meandering path of Rocky Run which flows through the central portion of the survey. Family history is anchored here by small rural burying grounds, including Dunkard Cem and Byrnjuison Cem, which sit amidst a grid of section roads and occasional landmarks like a lonely Windmill. The proximity of water is a constant theme, with Duck Lake and Lake Ontario filling low-lying basins across the townships of Chaseland and Speedwell. This document provides a look at the rural infrastructure of Wells County before modern agricultural consolidation significantly altered the small-scale field patterns and local landmarks.