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1953 Map of Watertown

Name: 1953 Topographic Map of Watertown
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1968
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1968

About this map

The glacial lakes of the Coteau des Prairies define this mid-century landscape, where the prairie of eastern South Dakota meets the Minnesota border. At the heart of the region, Watertown sits between the prominent shores of Lake Kampeska and Pelican Lake. To the south, large bodies of water such as Lake Poinsett, Lake Preston, and Lake Thompson are interspersed with smaller prairie towns like De Smet and Arlington.

A robust rail network including the Chicago and North Western Railway and the Great Northern Railway connects agricultural centers like Brookings and Madison to the wider region. Across the state line in Minnesota, the terrain transitions toward the Lac qui Parle River valley and the settlement at Pipestone. This survey captures the height of the post-war agricultural economy when the prairie was a dense grid of section roads, rail-stop elevators, and small lakeside communities.