1974 Map of Skaar NE

About this map

Shadwell Sch and Grace Ch anchor this prairie landscape along the border of Montana and North Dakota. In the mid-1970s, this area where Richland, McKenzie, and Wibaux counties converge was defined by scattered water sources and topographical landmarks like Bull Butte. The terrain is marked by the drainages of Shadwell Creek and Poison Spring Creek, which provided essential water in an otherwise arid ranching and farming region. Small-scale industrial activity is evident through the presence of a Scoria Pit, a common feature in this part of the Great Plains where baked clay was harvested for road surfacing. Numerous wells dotted across the quadrangle highlight the ongoing importance of subterranean water access for the rural homesteads that persisted in this remote tri-county corner during the late twentieth century.