1958 Map of Shelby

About this map

The Marias River and the newly forming Tiber Reservoir anchor this mid-century look at Northern Montana, where the Tiber Dam was still under development. Stretching from the Canadian border at Sweet Grass down toward the Missouri River, the landscape is defined by the high prominence of the Sweetgrass Hills, including West Butte and East Butte. The regional economy is clearly visible through the Great Northern railroad corridor, which links a string of prairie towns such as Shelby, Chester, and Joplin. Subsurface interests are also prominent, with the Utopia Oil and Gas Field and the Hull Coal Mine marking the industrial footprint of the era. To the east, the western edge of the Rocky Boy Indian Reservation and the wide expanse of the Lonesome Prairie show the rural character of the land before modern irrigation and interstate development fully reshaped the high plains.