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1965 Map of Melvin

Name: 1965 Topographic Map of Melvin
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1966
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1966

About this map

The Northern Pacific railroad cuts through the northeastern corner of this Polk County landscape, serving the small settlement of Melvin. The geography here is defined by an extensive network of managed waterways, including County Ditch No 119, County Ditch No 80, and Judicial Ditch No 53, which drained the land for agricultural use across the townships of Russia, Onstad, Reis, and Liberty.

Natural water features like the winding Sand Hill River and the marshy Melvin Slough contrast with the straight-line irrigation channels. For genealogists, the map identifies specific burial sites including Bethel Cem and Lone Star Cem. The presence of several Gravel Pits and areas of Sand near the northern boundary indicates the local extractive industries that supported regional development during the mid-1960s.