1985 Map of Great Bend

About this map

Cheyenne Bottoms and its namesake Cheyenne Bottoms State Wildlife Area dominate the northern landscape of this Central Kansas region. The Arkansas River snakes diagonally across the territory, anchoring a series of river towns from Pawnee Rock and Great Bend through Ellinwood, Sterling, and Nickerson. This 1980s landscape reveals a highly developed agricultural and energy-producing grid, where extensive Oil Field labels and numerous Gravel Pits are interspersed among established townships. The intersection of the Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe and Missouri Pacific railroads highlights the historical importance of the rail network in moving goods from the Quivira National Wildlife Refuge and the surrounding prairie. Smaller settlements like Seward, Hudson, and Chase provide critical points of reference for genealogists tracing local families in the Barton and Stafford county areas.