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1945 Map of Pelican Lake

Name: 1945 Topographic Map of Pelican Lake
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1964
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1964

About this map

Sheridan and McLean Counties are defined here by a dense distribution of one-room schoolhouses and a landscape of glacial prairie potholes. The mid-century map reveals a highly structured rural society where townships like Byersville, Medicine Hill, and Wise supported their own localized education networks, including Byersville Sch No 1 and Prophets Sch No 3. These schools, often spaced just a few miles apart, served the families farming the high ground between the region's many water bodies.

Water dominates the terrain, from the central Pelican Lake and Cherry Lake to smaller basins like England Lake and Siebold Lake. Social life is anchored by landmarks such as Immanuel Ch and the Our Savior Cem, providing critical touchpoints for genealogists tracking early twentieth-century families in this part of North Dakota. The lack of major towns or rail lines emphasizes the purely agricultural character of the region at the time of the 1945 survey.