1951 Map of Menan Buttes

About this map

Menan Buttes dominate the western portion of this 1951 survey, rising sharply above the complex river networks of the Snake River and Henrys Fork. This area of eastern Idaho shows a landscape defined by water management and early transportation history, where the Union Pacific railroad cuts across the volcanic terrain near the Historic Monument Site of First Ferry. The convergence of these major rivers creates a braided environment of sloughs and islands, including Big Island and Little Island, which required an extensive system of irrigation canals like the Rexburg Canal and St Anthony Canal to support regional agriculture. Local history is preserved in the location of the Beaver Dick Cemetery and the site of the Independence Sch (Abandoned), documenting the rural social structures of Madison Co and Jefferson Co during the mid-twentieth century.