1957 Map of McCook SW

About this map

The rugged drainage basins of Driftwood Creek and its tributaries define this 1957 landscape straddling the Nebraska-Kansas border. The terrain is characterized by deep incisions like Cottonwood Canyon and Plum Creek, which cut through the high plains topography of Richland and Grant townships. This survey captures a rural landscape where the placement of schoolhouses reflects the distributed settlement patterns of the mid-20th century. Banksville Sch and Devils Gap Sch serve as the primary social landmarks in a region largely defined by its natural watercourses and canyons. The Base Line serves as a prominent surveying boundary, anchoring the transition between Red Willow County and the northern border of Kansas. The map provides a clear look at the network of unimproved roads and light-duty paths that once connected these isolated farmsteads and rural schools before the expansion of modern highway systems.