1950 Map of Jewel Springs

About this map

North Platte River waters carve through a landscape of high prairie and cattle range where Platte, Converse, and Niobrara counties meet. The 1950 topography reveals an area defined by its hydrology, where vital water sources like Jewel Springs and Buck Spring supported the livestock economy of mid-century Wyoming. To the south, the terrain rises significantly toward Haystack Mountain, much of which is dedicated to the Haystack Mountain State Game Preserve. This survey emphasizes the reliance on groundwater in this arid region, with numerous scattered windmills dotting the drainages of Muddy Creek and Willow Creek. The map serves as a detailed record of land use at a time when the Department of the Interior was actively planning for the development of the Missouri River Basin, capturing the network of unimproved roads and seasonal creeks like Spring Creek and Spanish Creek that dictated movement across these high plains.