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1951 Map of Rice Lake

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

USGS Topo · Published 1951

About this map

Glacial potholes and shallow basins dominate this corner of Hyde County in the early 1950s, a landscape defined by its scattered water bodies and rural township divisions. The map highlights the township lines of Union, Bane, Illinois, and Eden, showing a sparsely populated agricultural region where local education was still centered around small country schoolhouses. These landmarks, including Rice Lake Sch, Money Sch, and North Illinois Sch, represent the social anchors for farming families before the era of district consolidation.

Hydrological features are the primary geographical markers, led by Rice Lake and the nearby Thomas Lake. The erratic drainage patterns typical of the Missouri River Basin are evident in the winding course of Medicine Creek and the isolated Baloun Lake. This 1950 plane-table survey captures the section lines and unimproved dirt roads that dictated the movement of goods and people across the prairie just after mid-century.