1959 Map of Mercer SW

About this map

Heckers Lake and the winding course of Painted Woods Creek anchor this prairie landscape along the intersection of Burleigh, McLean, and Sheridan Counties. Surveyed for the development of the Missouri River Basin, the map reveals a rural settlement pattern defined by numbered school districts and country cemeteries. The terrain transitions between the Edgemont and Wilson townships, where small water bodies and wetlands dot the upland prairie. Local genealogy and land-use history are preserved through features like the Bethel Cem and scattered educational hubs such as Park Sch No 2, School No 1, and School No 5. A lone Gravel Pit near the creek drainage points to the local material extraction necessary for maintaining the network of unimproved dirt and light-duty roads that connected these isolated homesteads during the late 1950s.