1958 Map of Lost Wells Butte

About this map

The Riverton Reclamation Withdrawal Area dominates this mid-century landscape in Fremont County, where irrigation infrastructure transformed the high plains of the Missouri River Basin. The map details the complex water-management systems essential to this agricultural expansion, featuring the Pilot Canal, Lost Wells Lateral, and Ocean Drain. These engineered waterways cut through the natural topography defined by Lost Wells Butte and the surrounding Missouri Valley. Local social centers are anchored by the Union Church and the Paradise Valley Community House, serving the rural residents settled along Missouri Valley Road and Burma Road. This survey documents a critical era of federal reclamation projects, illustrating how desert land was reclaimed for homesteading and farming through systematic irrigation and drainage.