1904 USGS Geologic Atlas De Smet Folio S Dak Laura Ingalls Wilder Prairie Home

Description: Geologic Atlas of the United States De Smet, South Dakota Folio No. 114 by J. E. Todd and C. M. Hall, United States Geological Survey; Charles D. Walcott, Director. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1904 First edition. Folio, library edition. 6 pp. plus 3 color lithograph maps (topographic, areal geology, and artesian water). In original tan heavy paper wraps with original black cloth binding strip. Size: 18.5 x 21.75 inches. Map scale: 1 to 125,000. An early atlas of this historic part of east-central South Dakota emphasizing groundwater resources and showing De Smet and surrounding prairie towns and lands as they existed when Laura Ingalls Wilder (of “Little House on the Prairie” fame) and the Ingalls family lived there in 1894 – the date physical and cultural features of the De Smet quadrangle were first surveyed by the USGS for preparation of the maps published in this folio. See additional information below. Old folio topographic and geologic maps form an important historical record of the physical and cultural features of the country as they existed and were named (and, in the case of geology, interpreted) over 100 years ago. These maps with accompanying explanatory text are among the earliest of the area surveyed by the USGS and often show a simpler, less well developed and sometimes surprising landscape than is familiar today. These old folios are long out of print and can make wonderful research or conversation pieces. Given the relative rarity of separately published early USGS topographic and geologic maps in the marketplace, the folio series generally offers the best source of maps available to the public for those fortunate enough to have a connection with the surveyed areas. Condition: Complete. Wrappers are lightly toned with a little light soiling and folio number “114” written in pencil at lower left. Interior text and maps are clean and unmarked. Generally, a very nice example of this scarce folio. Content: The De Smet Quadrangle covers an 857 square mile area located mainly within parts of Kingsbury and Miner counties with smaller portions of Beadle and Sanborn counties. The topo sheet shows the surface physical (hills, rivers, lakes, etc.) and cultural features (buildings, ranches, farms, roads, railroads, towns, localities, ferries, etc.). Some of the named places shown in the map include: Towns: De Smet, Iroquois, Carthage, Howard, Vilas, Artesian, St. Mary, Esmond, Manchester, Osceola, Roswell, Miner, Bancroft, and smaller localities. Street grids are shown for the denser, more developed cities and towns with individual homes and buildings shown in less populated areas. Water bodies: Vermilion River, Redstone Creek, Pearl Creek and smaller creeks and streams. Railroads: Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul; Chicago and Northwestern; Minnesota and Central Dakota; Great Northern. The geologic map is attractively colored with multiple colors, patterns, shadings, tints, and/or hues used to illustrate the local geologic formations and a separate map focused on groundwater resources. Although the folio is dated 1904 and the maps are marked “Edition of 1904”, the physical and cultural features shown on the maps illustrate the countryside as they existed at the time of surveying which, for De Smet, was conducted during 1894 and 1895 (even if a USGS topo map bears a later edition or reprint date, the survey date determines the age of the map’s physical features which change only when resurveyed or found to be in error with the original field maps. Placenames and map formatting/details contained outside of the image area, however, are subject to change and revision between printings). This period coincides with the departure of the Wilder family from De Smet to Mansfield, Missouri, and thus shows De Smet and the surrounding region as they last knew it. For Wilder fans, this gives a potentially new dimension into what life on the prairie was like and may provide a useful reference when reading and studying the “Little House” book series. The map shows that, despite a dense grid of wagon roads located systematically along section boundaries connecting individual farms and homesteads, the railroad lines offered the main mode of transportation to/from the area, with all major towns situated on a railroad. These railroads, in fact, made farming of the region economically feasible as they offered the only efficient means of transporting grain to market. Many, if not most, survey sections (about 1 square mile or 640 acres each) contain only a few farm houses indicating a sparse but well-connected population. Presumably, the Ingalls and Wilders knew families located near De Smet and perhaps elsewhere on the map. Of course, the challenge would be to identify the importance of various buildings and farms using information available from other sources and therein lies part of the appeal of the map. Water was also scarce but the presence of significant quantities of groundwater, particularly at depth and under artesian pressure, offered a potentially reliable source for domestic and farm use, as described in the text and illustrated on the artesian water map. The town of De Smet had a deep well; however, most farms likely relied on shallow wells drilled or dug into surficial glacial and alluvial deposits that blanketed the region. These deposits result in a generally flat topography and fertile soil characteristic of the glaciated northern Great Plains. In 1894, the USGS implemented a plan to prepare a geologic map of the US in the form of over 3,000 quadrangle atlas sheets issued individually in folio size. The essential parts of each folio were a description of the region surveyed, a topographic map, and an areal geologic map. Additional geologic map sheets and illustrations would be included as determined by the important economic and/or scenic characteristics found in the area. Of the over 3,000 folios planned, only 227 were ever issued before the series was discontinued in 1945. The majority of folios, such as the one offered for sale here, were issued in a library edition containing never-folded, single-sided maps printed on heavy paper with a highly calendared (glossy) surface. This surface was specifically chosen to give the best effects to the patterns and colors. These characteristics make the library edition the preferred choice for collectors and print sellers. Never-folded (and later folded) field editions were also issued but as a portfolio without calendared map surfaces. Shipping: For reasons of size and fragility, your atlas will be shipped flat sandwiched between multiple sheets of new cardboard pads for best protection.

Price: 35 USD

Location: Denver, Colorado

End Time: 2025-01-03T16:38:50.000Z

Shipping Cost: 8 USD