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1951 Map of Vale SE

Name: 1951 Topographic Map of Vale SE
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1953
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1953

About this map

The Belle Fourche River meanders through the northern edge of this territory, where the infrastructure of the Chicago and North Western railroad met an evolving agricultural landscape in the early 1950s. The map illustrates a transition in rural education and community structure, clearly marking several schools that had already fallen out of use, such as the Ninemile Sch (Abandoned) and the South Highland Sch (Abandoned). These notations provide a specific record of shifting population centers across the Highland area.

Water management is a central theme of the landscape, defined by the prominent South Canal and its associated lateral systems. Above the irrigation works, the terrain rises toward Buzzards Peak, while local life is anchored by landmarks like the Empire Ch and Follette Sch. This survey, conducted for the development of the Missouri River Basin, preserves the exact locations of these rural institutions before many were lost to consolidation.