1951 Map of Smyrna

About this map

Crab Creek flows through a dramatic landscape of basalt coulees and structural ridges in the mid-century Columbia Basin. The settlement of Smyrna sits along the Chicago Milwaukee St Paul and Pacific railroad, which follows the low ground between the Frenchman Hills to the north and the towering Saddle Mountains to the south. This era of mapping by the Bureau of Reclamation and Geological Survey reveals a sparse ranching economy, marked by family-run operations such as Schrum Ranch, Chadbourne Ranch, and Rasor Ranch. A notable geographic curiosity, the Natural Corral, is tucked into the Red Rock Coulee, while the high point at Wahatis Pk dominates the southern skyline. The map details the transitional period of the Royal Slope and Wahuke Slope before the widespread expansion of irrigation transformed the region's agricultural character.