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1955 Map of Old Roach

Name: 1955 Topographic Map of Old Roach
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1964
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1964

About this map

The Medicine Bow National Forest and Roosevelt National Forest meet at the high-altitude border of Wyoming and Colorado, framing a landscape defined by timber and drainage management. This 1955 field-checked survey highlights the high-country logging history through the presence of Old Roach (Aband), a remote settlement identified as abandoned by the mid-1950s. The terrain transitions from the steep timbered slopes of Pollock Knob and Mansfield Hill down to the complex irrigation networks of the Laramie River valley.

Water rights and livestock ranching are central to the area's development, evidenced by the extensive canal systems including the Warren Ditch, Boswell Ditch, and Slough Creek Ditch. These man-made features support the high-plains agricultural operations at Grace Creek Ranch. The map also captures numerous Beaver Ponds along Johnson Creek and Fish Creek, illustrating the natural hydrological activity that shared the valley with early twentieth-century water diversions like Johnson Reservoir (Hohnholz Lake).