Map of the Dakota Southern Railroad and Connections
With a bold caption above that states, "This Map shows the Traveler the only Direct Route to the New Gold Fields of the Black Hills In Dakota", this maps shows you how to get the "Florida of the North" to find your fortune. The map itself spans from Wisconsin and central Illinois, west to Colorado and Montana, and shows the rail lines, major towns and forts as well as the rivers. From the upper Midwest it seems that all major railroads lead to the Black Hills. The sensational surrounding text and illustrations convey the energy of this Gold Rush moment in history, mentioning the recent expedition of "Custer and his command" and verified the prescence of gold. Exhaustive columns of text and advertising on the back address everything from the "timber, land, gold and other rich resources" of the area, to the recent arrival in 1873 of German settlers coming from Russia.
An exceedingly uncommon first hand gold rush promotional map.
Condition is good with some separartions to the folds and some loss on corner folds. Image size is 13.75 x 20.5 (inches)