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1955 Map of Mt. Coolidge

Name: 1955 Topographic Map of Mt. Coolidge
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1989
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1989

About this map

Custer State Park dominates this mid-1950s survey of the Black Hills, revealing a landscape defined by protected wilderness and topographical extremes. Rising to the northwest, Mt Coolidge serves as a primary landmark, complete with its high-altitude Lookout Tower. The settlement of Blue Bell provides a rare point of human habitation amidst the rugged terrain of the Black Hills National Forest.

A complex network of drainages, including French Creek and Lame Johnny Creek, illustrates the area's natural irrigation and erosion patterns. The southern edge of the map transitions into Wind Cave National Park near Rankin Ridge, showing the intersecting boundaries of three distinct federal and state conservation lands. This map documents the area after the establishment of the state park but before modern intensive tourist development, preserving the mid-century layout of forest roads and trails.