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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 and South Canal define the agricultural and hydraulic character of this western South Dakota landscape in the early 1950s. The northern reaches show a developing infrastructure supporting local farming communities, centered around Empire Ch and several rural schoolhouses including Empire Sch, Follette Sch, and Williamson Sch. Transport is anchored by the Chicago and North Western railroad corridor which cuts across the northern edge of the survey.

Further south, the terrain rises into the Highland area and towards Buzzards Peak, where the map documents a shift in the local social geography. Here, the presence of the Ninemile Sch (Abandoned) and South Highland Sch (Abandoned) near Ninemile Creek provides evidence of changing settlement patterns and the consolidation of rural education during the mid-twentieth century development of the Missouri River Basin.