1954 Map of Gables NW

About this map

Little Cedar Creek meanders through the sandy hills of Garfield County in this mid-1950s survey of the Sandhills region. The landscape is defined by the townships of Erina and Bryan, reflecting a sparse, rural pattern of settlement typical of central Nebraska during this era. Education was decentralized and tied to these local townships, evidenced by the presence of School No 34 and School No 22. Water management was the primary concern for the ranching operations here, with several Windmill sites carefully recorded as critical infrastructure for sustaining livestock across the undulating terrain. The map captures a moment when the Missouri River Basin development program was actively documenting these remote Nebraska counties to better understand the hydraulic and topographic character of the Great Plains.