Elkhorn Ranch
My curated map collection helps analyze how a particular space, the basin of the Little Missouri River in present day North Dakota, took on special personal meaning to Theodore Roosevelt in the 1880s. My project investigates how the land and people in the Little Missouri created a unique cultural and historical phenomenon that endured not just in Roosevelt’s conscience but also in the national imagination. My project will answer such questions as: what were the cultural and economic forces that led to a ranching boom in the Little Missouri Basin in the 1880s? How did the space change Roosevelt? How did he and others change the space? What cultural, ideological, and personal meaning did Roosevelt attach to the space, and how, and why? How did what happened there reflect or influence understandings of national identity in the latter half of the 19th century? I include these maps as texts and tools to provide context and analysis in answering these and other questions.
Rand McNally & Co.'s sectional map of the Dakota and the Black Hills
Full Title: "Rand McNally & Co.'s sectional map of the Dakota and the Black Hills. Printed expressly for J. Bride & Co.'s Great American 25 Cent package, 767 and 769 Broadway, New York City. A.W. Barber, Del. Rand McNally & Co. Printers, engravers…
Territory Of Dakota. 1882
Full title: “Department Of The Interior General Land Office N.C. McFarland, Commissioner. Territory Of Dakota. 1882. Compiled from the official Records of the General Land Office and other sources by C. Roeser, Principal Draughtsman G.L.O. Photo lith…
Text Page: St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba Ry.
Full Title: “(Text Page to) St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba Ry. Red River Valley Line through the park region ... 2 +87. Matthews, Northrup & Co., Art-Printing Works, Buffalo, N.Y.”
My description: This text page advertisement from the…
Map illustrating the location of Theodore Roosevelt’s ranches
This undated map, courtesy of Theodore Roosevelt National Park, shows ranches along the Little Missouri River during the 1880s. The map contains the following description on the bottom: "Map of part of the Little Missouri River Valley, in Billings…
Ranches in North Dakota (Roosevelt) Badlands Area in '80's
This map provides a loose sketch of the Little Missouri River Basin, with a focus on the tributary streams that flow into the Little Missouri, and the ranches in the area. Ambiguity about the map's authorship, date of creation, and scale--not to…
Official railroad map of Dakota issued by the railroad commissioners, November 1st, 1886.
Summary (from Library of Congress): Shows relief by hachures, drainage, cities and towns, township and county boundaries, Indians, and the railroads with lines named.
My description: This 1886 Rand McNally map, created by the railroad commission,…