1938 Map of Heart Butte

About this map

Heart River winds through the center of this rural landscape, carving a valley that separates the Morton Co Grant Co boundary. The area is defined by a sparse but organized network of numbered school districts and country churches, indicating a settled agrarian community in the years before the river was dammed. Local industry is anchored by a Lignite Mine situated near Johannestown Ch, reflecting the region's reliance on the underlying coal seams of the Great Plains. The prominent landmark Heart Butte rises near the State Highway, while Johnson Ford provides a critical crossing point on the eastern side of the river. This survey captures a moment in the late 1930s when small rural institutions like the Town Hall and numerous School No 1 locations served as the social fabric for isolated farmsteads.