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1953 Map of Hermosa NW

Name: 1953 Topographic Map of Hermosa NW
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1967
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1967

About this map

Spring Creek meanders through this portion of Pennington County, carving a path through the varied elevations of the Black Hills foothills. The landscape is defined by its series of named canyons and ridges, such as Moonshine Canyon, Wall Smith Canyon, and Spiken Ridge, indicating a terrain heavily influenced by water erosion and seasonal drainage patterns. At the center of the sheet, Black Gap and Potato Butte serve as prominent landmarks for navigation across the high prairie and broken ground.

Rural infrastructure in the early 1950s was sparse, centered around the Chicago and North Western railroad line that cuts through the southeastern quadrant. Small localized hubs like Ajax and the Neely Sch represent the dispersed nature of settlement in this era. The presence of numerous benchmarks and a solitary Windmill suggest a working landscape dedicated to ranching and transit, where water sources and topographic markers were essential to daily life and commerce.