1972 Map of Poverty Flat East

About this map

Poverty Flat and the surrounding high plains of Dawson County are documented here in the early 1970s, revealing a landscape defined by isolated rural infrastructure and seasonal drainage systems. The presence of the Lower Threemile School and Poverty Flat School indicates a decentralized educational network serving the ranching families of the era. The terrain is structured by prominent tablelands like Threemile Table and deep-cut coulees such as Cherry Coulee, which channel water toward Threemile Creek and Deer Creek. Aviation and local industry are represented by the Dawson Community Airport in the south and the Garnost Mine further west. This survey illustrates the spatial distribution of homestead-era relics and active 20th-century resource extraction, showing how topographical features like Dry Creek and Fourmile Hill dictated the placement of roads and gravel operations.