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1951 Map of Polo

Name: 1951 Topographic Map of Polo
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1951
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1951

About this map

The small settlement of Polo serves as the focal point for this 1951 study of the Hand County prairie, situated at the intersection of the Fairview and Howell townships. This agricultural landscape is defined by its social institutions, including the St Michaels Cem and Calvary Cem, which offer significant data for genealogical research in this rural pocket of South Dakota.

A network of country schools, such as Center Sch No 2, Central Sch, and Hargens Sch, suggests a community-centric development pattern typical of the mid-century Midwest. The terrain is marked by seasonal waterways and natural depressions, most notably Schaefer Creek and Costigan Slough. The presence of Spring Park and various family-named features like Matter Creek provide a clear view of the local geography as it existed just after the aerial surveys of the late 1940s.