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1945 Map of Pelican Lake

Name: 1945 Topographic Map of Pelican Lake
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1968
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1968

About this map

Glacial prairie potholes and an extensive network of rural school districts define this mid-century landscape straddling the McLean Co and Sheridan Co line. The terrain is dominated by water bodies such as Pelican Lake, Cherry Lake, and Brush Lake, around which a dense system of local education was organized. The map reveals the granularity of the township system, with numerous numbered facilities like Byersville Sch No 4 and Medicine Hill Sch No 4 serving the scattered farming community.

Religious and community life centered on sites like Immanuel Ch and the Our Savior Cem. The distribution of these landmarks, alongside the Herr Sch No 2 and Prophets Sch No 1, illustrates the high density of small-scale social infrastructure required in the pre-consolidation era of rural North Dakota. The lack of major urban centers highlights a period when life revolved around the local schoolhouse and the township section lines.