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1891 Map of Larned

Name: 1891 Topographic Map of Larned
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1891
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1891

About this map

Larned serves as the central hub of this late-nineteenth-century Kansas landscape, situated at the strategic junction of the Pawnee River and the Arkansas River. The settlement pattern follows the established iron corridors of the Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad and the Missouri Pacific Railway, which facilitated the growth of smaller stops like Rush Centre, Nekoma, and Garfield.

The map reveals a transition from the structured township divisions of Rush and Pawnee counties to the natural drainage systems of Walnut Creek and Saw Mill Creek. The presence of landmarks like Pleasant Ridge and Old Maid's Fork highlights the early geographic nomenclature used by surveyors in 1889. For those studying Kansas rail history, the alignment of the tracks relative to the riverbeds provides a clear view of the infrastructure that defined the plains during this era of western expansion.