1953 Map of Fort Meade SE

About this map

Pleasant Valley Creek winds through this Meade County landscape, providing a central drainage for a series of small, rural institutions. The 1953 field check documents a community in transition, most notably marking the Harlow Sch (Abandoned) alongside its active replacement, the second Harlow Sch. These small schools and the Pleasant Valley Ch suggest a sparse, ranch-oriented settlement pattern characteristic of the Black Hills fringes. The drainage of Morris Creek to the south supports the Morris Creek Sch, while Antelope Creek cuts through the eastern sections of the quadrangle. For genealogists and local historians, these specific school locations and church labels help pinpoint the center of gravity for families living in the valley before rural school consolidation moved students toward larger towns.