1962 Map of Wadena

About this map

Benton County agriculture and transit dominate this 1962 landscape, where the prairie is carved by a sophisticated network of drainage infrastructure like Big Pine Creek Ditch and Owens Ditch. The settlement of Wadena serves as a local hub, featuring the Township Sch and proximity to the naturally winding Sugar Creek. The map records a transition in rail history, showing the active New York Central line running through Gravel Hill in the southwest, contrasted with an Old Railroad Grade further north. These linear features, alongside the Storage Bins at Lochiel, illustrate the grain-shipping economy of the mid-century Midwest. For those tracing family history, the Dehner Cem remains a fixed point in Richland township, providing a genealogical anchor amidst the rotating fields of Union and Center townships.