Loading map...

1955 Map of Gould NW

Name: 1955 Topographic Map of Gould NW
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1975
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1975

About this map

Manning Coal Mines and the Sudduth Coal Mine define the industrial footprint of this mid-century high-altitude landscape in Jackson County. The economy depicted here is a sophisticated marriage of mining and extensive water management, necessary for both resource extraction and ranching at these elevations. A dense network of irrigation channels, including Bostwick Ditch, Cleveland Ditch, and Curtin Ditch, web across the territory to redirect the flow of the Michigan River and its tributaries like Sage Hen Creek.

Local landmarks such as the Allard Ranch and Three Rivers Ranch anchor the rural settlement pattern, while several Oil Wells and the Conrad Coal Mine indicate a diverse energy-based economy. The presence of numerous abandoned ditches and draws like Ballinger Draw suggest a shifting relationship with the land as earlier water claims and smaller mining operations, like the Capron Coal Mine, were consolidated or left behind by the mid-1950s.