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1907 Map of Redwater

Name: 1907 Topographic Map of Redwater
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1941
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1941

About this map

Belle Fourche sits at the confluence of the Belle Fourche River and Redwater Creek, serving as a critical junction for the northern Black Hills region during the early twentieth century. This survey, conducted between 1903 and 1905, illustrates a landscape transitioning through early industrial irrigation and rail expansion. The Chicago and Northwestern RR and the Wyoming and Missouri River RR converge at the townsite, highlighting its role as a shipping hub.

Evidence of early water management is visible in the Concordia Ditch and other unnamed ditches, which diverted water from sources like Spearfish Creek to support local agriculture. The map also documents the proximity of the settlement of Minnesela and traces the county boundary between Butte Co and Lawrence Co. From the cattle-driving routes suggested by the river crossings to the family-scale hydrology of Cox Lake, the sheet preserves the functional geography of the South Dakota frontier.