1960 Map of Spalding 2 NW

About this map

Beaver Creek winds through this section of the Nebraska Sandhills, marking a landscape of wide valleys and dispersed cattle ranching at the dawn of the 1960s. The map illustrates a rural settlement pattern where life is organized around major family-held lands such as Stokes Ranch, Mignery Ranch, and Koinzan Ranch. These established operations define the social and economic geography of Caldwell and Bartlett townships, where vast stretches of terrain are punctuated by the essential infrastructure of remote prairie living. A single educational landmark, Wayside Sch, stands near the creek, serving as a focal point for the surrounding ranching families. This survey, part of the development program for the Missouri River Basin, provides a precise record of the road networks and water sources that sustained these isolated operations before further modernization changed the face of Wheeler County agriculture.