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1958 Map of Lone Butte SE

Name: 1958 Topographic Map of Lone Butte SE
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1960
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1960

About this map

The Little Missouri River carves a winding path through the broken badlands of the Missouri River Basin at the end of the 1950s. This landscape, straddling the border of McKenzie and Dunn counties, is defined by its deep drainages and isolated grazing operations. Isolated ranches such as the Monroe Ranch and Tysver Ranch are positioned near the few reliable water sources, including Crosby Creek and Cottonwood Creek.

Evidence of early 20th-century rural infrastructure appears in the form of the Quilliam Sch, serving the scattered families of this expansive territory. Significant natural features like Lone Butte and the Big Gulch dominate the topography, while a Flowing Well near the river indicates the essential role of water management in this arid environment. The map records a moment just after aerial surveys in 1956, documenting the exact layout of dirt tracks and remote homesteads before modernization further changed the prairie.