1893 Map of Hutchinson

About this map

The Arkansas River and Little Arkansas River define the fertile prairie landscape of central Kansas in the late nineteenth century. Surveyed in 1889, the map reveals a region rapidly developing around a dense network of competing rail lines. Major hubs like Hutchinson and Mc Pherson are depicted with their urban grids, while smaller track-side settlements such as Mound Ridge, Galva, and Burrton dot the crossings of the Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad and the Missouri Pacific Railway. A distinctive series of prairie depressions and water bodies, including Lake Luman, Lake Farland, and the Basin, highlight the natural hydrology of the plains before extensive modern irrigation changed the face of the land. The meticulous section-line grid underlying the entire area illustrates the systematic settlement pattern of the Kansas townships during this era of agricultural expansion.