1985 Map of Protection

About this map

Cavalry Creek and Bluff Creek carve through the Southern Plains landscape of south-central Kansas and northern Oklahoma in the mid-1980s. The regional centers of Ashland and Coldwater serve as anchors for agricultural activity, connected by the sprawling network of the Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe railroad. A distinct historical marker, the Old Indian Treaty Boundary, cuts across the northern reaches of the map, providing a glimpse into the 19th-century geopolitical surveying that preceded the established county lines of Kiowa, Clark, and Comanche. Smaller, persistent settlements like Protection, Wilmore, and Buttermilk are detailed alongside local aviation infrastructure such as Stark Airport and the Municipal Airport. Terrain features like Iron Mountain and Sugarloaf rise above the drainage basins of the Medicine Lodge River and the Cimarron River, while the presence of a large Oil and Gas Field near the Oklahoma border indicates the era's energy production.