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1939 Map of Pence

Name: 1939 Topographic Map of Pence
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1971
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1971

About this map

Ladder Creek and Chalk Creek carve distinct east-west drainages across this section of the High Plains, defining the rural character of western Kansas at the end of the 1930s. The landscape is organized into a rigid township grid, where the boundaries of Paxton, Beaver, Isabel, and Elton meet at the intersection of Logan, Wichita, and Scott counties. This survey reveals a remarkably high density of rural schoolhouses, suggesting a decentralized but active farming population before the mid-century trend toward school consolidation.

Genealogists will find interest in the dispersed social infrastructure, including the centrally located Pence Cem and numerous district schools such as High Prairie Sch, Lone Corner Sch, and Enterprise Sch. These institutions, often spaced just a few miles apart, served as the primary gathering points for the families working the surrounding fields. The lack of major town sites on this sheet emphasizes the purely agricultural nature of the region during this era.