1968 Map of Lawson Mtn

About this map

West Branch Cemetery and the Fitzgerald Ranch serve as key landmarks in this Wheeler County landscape, which transitions from the northern reaches of the Och Oco National Forest into a complex system of volcanic buttes and canyons. The terrain is defined by prominent elevations such as Lawson Mtn, Bailey Butte, and the distinctive Courthouse Rock. Water sources are vital here, with numerous named springs including Heflin Spring and the curiously named Sheep Smother Spring feeding into West Branch Bridge Creek and Carroll Creek. The presence of a Landing Strip and a Borrow Pit alongside the various flats, like Ross Flat and Do Little Flat, illustrates the balance of ranching life and small-scale resource extraction in this part of Oregon during the late 1960s and early 1980s.