1957 Map of Owyhee

About this map

The Union Pacific (Oregon Short Line) cuts a straight path through this high desert corridor of Ada County, anchoring the small rail stop of Owyhee amidst a landscape defined by water management and transit. In the late 1950s, the terrain was shaped by an intricate network of irrigation including the Ditch and Pipeline systems that fed several Reservoirs, vital for life in the arid plains southeast of Boise. To the west, the settlement of Pleasant Valley sits near the head of these drainage systems. The map documents early aviation and rail infrastructure with the presence of a Landing Field near Sand Creek and a Water Tank along the tracks at Owyhee. Natural features like Fivemile Canyon, Tenmile Creek, and Blacks Creek Reservoir break the open ground, showing how the mid-century infrastructure followed the natural contours of the Indian Creek drainage basin.