1952 Map of Signal Butte

About this map

Signal Butte rises above the rolling terrain of the West River region, anchoring a landscape defined by ranching and rural education in the early 1950s. This survey, part of the Department of the Interior program for the development of the Missouri River Basin, reveals a sparse but vital network of infrastructure, including a prominent Windmill and the local Cottonwood Sch. The map documents the boundary between Perkins and Meade counties as it crosses the northern edge of the elevated Fox Ridge formation. Water sources remain central to the geography of this semi-arid prairie, with Deep Creek and Flint Creek cutting through the draws. The detail captured from 1948 aerial photography provides researchers with a precise look at the placement of isolated homesteads and livestock facilities at a time when traditional prairie life was being integrated into broader federal development initiatives.