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1892 Map of Two Butte

Name: 1892 Topographic Map of Two Butte
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1892
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1892

About this map

The Santa Fe Trail cuts across this high plains landscape at the end of the nineteenth century, marking a corridor of historical transit through southeastern Colorado. Surveyed just decades after the region was organized into Bent, Prowers, and Baca counties, the map reveals a sparse network of early ranching and frontier outposts. The namesake Two Buttes rise as a singular landmark above the drainage of Two Butte Creek, providing a primary navigational reference for the surrounding territory.

Settlement patterns in 1890 were centered on water sources and cattle operations, evidenced by labels such as Longshore Ranch and Clay Creek Spring. Scattered communities like Brookfield, Mulvane, and Atlanta appear in their earliest forms, while numerous ephemeral waterways including Mud Creek and Horse Creek define the arid topography long before modern irrigation changed the face of the plains.