1950 Map of Tolley

About this map

The Minneapolis St Paul and Sault Ste Marie railroad defines the northern transit corridor of this North Dakota landscape, connecting the elevators and homes of Tolley and Norma. To the south, the Great Northern railway cuts a diagonal path through the Lowland near Donnybrook, tracing the sharp descent into the valley carved by the Mouse River. This 1950 era survey captures a region transitioning from early township settlement to organized agriculture, evidenced by the numbered schoolhouses like School No 13 and White Ash Sch scattered across the plains of Sauk Prairie and Roosevelt. The conservation legacy of the Great Plains is visible in the early boundaries of the Upper Souris National Wildlife Refuge and Des Lacs National Wildlife Refuge, which protect the vital riparian habitats and wetlands along the river's winding course.