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1951 Map of Merino SW

Name: 1951 Topographic Map of Merino SW
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1972
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1972

About this map

The South Platte River cuts across the northwest corner of this Colorado landscape, defining the agricultural boundary between Morgan and Washington counties. Mapped in the early 1950s as part of the Missouri River Basin development program, the area showcases the critical role of irrigation in the high plains through features like the Beaver Ditch. This reliance on water management allowed for the establishment of rural community hubs like the Highland School, situated amidst a vast network of windmills that tapped into subterranean resources for livestock and domestic use.

While the small settlement of Hillrose sits just west of the map's focus, the sheet captures the expansive, undulating terrain south of the river, including the contained basin of Emerson Lake. The distribution of scattered Windmill sites across the sections highlights the homesteading pattern of the era, where isolated family-run operations depended on localized water access far from the primary river valley.