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1955 Map of Manhattan

Name: 1955 Topographic Map of Manhattan
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1973
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1973

About this map

Manhattan and the expansive Fort Riley Military Reservation anchor this mid-century portrait of northeastern Kansas. The landscape is defined by its major water projects, featuring the newly established Tuttle Creek Reservoir and Milford Reservoir, which transformed the valleys of the Big Blue River and Republican River. For the local historian, the map preserves the exact alignment of the Laramie Trail as it crossed this prairie terrain, alongside an intricate network of competing rail lines including the Union Pacific RR and the Missouri Pacific RR.

Rural communities like Blue Rapids, Waterville, and Marysville serve as hubs between the river systems and the upland Blue Hills. The 1969 revision detail allows researchers to see the transition of the region as recreation areas like Tuttle Creek State Park and Milford Reservoir State Park were integrated into the existing agricultural and military landscape, providing a clear record of land use before later twentieth-century developments.