1958 Map of Harlow SW

About this map

Glacial prairie potholes and scattered wetlands define the landscape of Benson County in the late 1950s, a period when the rural section lines still dictated the pattern of life and travel. The Northern Pacific railway cuts a diagonal path across the southwest corner of the sheet, providing the primary industrial link through the townships of Rich Valley and Hesper. This survey captures the small settlement of Isabel and the community anchors of Bethany Ch and Immanuel Ch, which served the surrounding farmsteads across Isabel, Esmond, and Broe townships. The map is a product of the Department of the Interior's program for the development of the Missouri River Basin, documenting a high-plains terrain characterized more by its drainage patterns and small depressions than by significant elevation changes, preserving the spatial layout of central North Dakota just before modern agricultural consolidation.