Old Map of Winfield, Kansas by USGS, 1965 – Arkansas River & Cowley County

Published with a 1979 imprint using survey data from 1965, the U.S. Geological Survey’s “Winfield” captures a finely grained portrait of south-central Kansas at a pivotal moment in the modern landscape. At the precise 1:24,000 scale, the map presents Winfield, the Cowley County seat, not as an abstract dot on a highway map, but as a living urban fabric: streets, rail and road corridors, drainage lines, parkland, cultivated ground, and the measured rise and fall of the prairie. Its original title, “Winfield,” is deceptively simple, for the sheet records the relationship between a historic Kansas town and the agricultural countryside that sustained it through the mid-twentieth century.

The U.S. Geological Survey brought to this map the disciplined visual language that made its quadrangles indispensable to engineers, planners, geologists, historians, and travelers. Founded in 1879, the USGS became the nation’s premier authority for systematic topographic mapping, and this sheet reflects that institutional rigor. Contour lines trace the subtle elevations around Winfield, turning gentle slopes, stream valleys, and upland fields into readable form. Blue waterways, green wooded tracts, and carefully differentiated road networks create a layered depiction of both nature and settlement. The result is a map of remarkable clarity: technical enough for serious field use, yet elegant in its ordered presentation of land, water, and human activity.

Winfield itself appears as the organizing center of the sheet, a compact urban place set within the wider expanse of Cowley County. By the 1960s, the town had long been established as a regional hub, known for its civic institutions, historic character, and later for the community events that would help define its public identity. The map’s street grid, routes, and surrounding rural roads show how the city connected to nearby farms, smaller communities such as Pleasant Valley, and the broader transportation landscape of southern Kansas. Here the urban edge is especially revealing, where neighborhoods give way to fields, scattered properties, and the practical geometries of agricultural life.

The natural landscape is equally important to the map’s appeal. The Arkansas River system and associated waterways help shape the countryside, their courses rendered in blue against the warm, measured terrain of the plains. Contours show that this is not a featureless landscape, but one of low ridges, shallow valleys, and drainage patterns that influenced roads, farms, and settlement. Green areas identify wooded corridors and parkland, suggesting shelterbelts, riparian growth, and recreational spaces amid the cultivated surroundings. Agricultural zones dominate much of the sheet, reflecting the enduring importance of farming in Cowley County and offering a snapshot of land use before later suburban expansion and changing agricultural practices.

As a historical document, “Winfield” preserves the region at a moment between postwar modernization and the more expansive development patterns of the late twentieth century. Its roads and rural routes speak to mobility, commerce, and the everyday rhythms of county life; its town plan records the established heart of Winfield before subsequent decades reshaped its margins. The 1965 survey foundation gives the map particular documentary value, while the 1979 imprint reminds us that USGS quadrangles often carried earlier field knowledge forward for continued public use. For collectors, historians, and admirers of American cartography, this is a poised and informative depiction of a Kansas community rooted in prairie, river, road, and field.

Cities, towns and places on this map

• Winfield, Kansas
• Pleasant Valley
• Cowley County
• Arkansas River
• Various roadways and rural routes
• Parks and wooded areas
• Agricultural zones
• Nearby smaller communities and rural properties
• Potential landmarks as indicated by mapped features

Historical context & cartographic details

• Produced by the U.S. Geological Survey
• Historical 1:24,000 topographical map with survey data from 1965 and a 1979 imprint
• Depicts both natural and man-made features in and around the mapped area
• Uses detailed contour lines to show elevation changes
• Waterways are indicated in blue, with vegetation areas highlighted in green
• Includes roads, urban layouts, rivers, contours, and land-use distinctions
• Reflects mid-20th-century development patterns in the surrounding region
• Documents a landscape that may have changed since publication due to urban development and agricultural practices

Looking for a particular place? Review the detailed images to confirm that the town, landmark or feature you have in mind appears on the map. If you are unsure, ask our workshop to check before you order.

Detailed maps are especially rewarding at larger sizes, where names, boundaries and decorative features have more room to be appreciated. Use the close-up preview and size guide to choose the right scale for your wall.

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The model in the listing images is holding the 16x20in (40x50cm) version of this map.

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With its rich detail and strong sense of place, this map makes a considered gift for a new home, anniversary, retirement or anyone with a personal connection to the area shown. Still deciding? Explore our collection of rare old and vintage maps to discover another place, period or style.