(ND & SD) Territory of Dakota

Territory of Dakota, GLO, 1876 
Early in the 19th century the U.S. founded an agency to manage the surveying, platting and sale of the public lands in the western U.S. If you think back to the massive growth and acquisitions throughout the 19th century, it was an astounding challenge to manage. Spanning from Florida and the deep south, all the way west through the trans-Mississippi lands, to the West Coast, it was hundreds of millions of acres. Founded in 1812 and evolving over the century to finally being integrated into the modern day Bureau of Land Management in 1946, it played an essential role and created sets of maps that offered dependable and accurate glimpses the changing states and territories. 
     An interesting stage in the development of the territory. Here we see the drastic difference between the "East of the River/West of the River" (Missouri River) dichotomy as Counties and surveys grow and progress, while west of the river are some native lands, portions of a military reserve and only the terrain of the Black Hills being well detailed. 

Condtition is good, with toning to the folds with repairs and some loss to the corner fold junctions. Image size is approximately 29.25 x 24.5 (inches)