Old Maps of Reardan

The land around Reardan was surveyed in the 1870s and 1880s and platted using the Public Land Survey System (PLSS). People desiring land for purchase or settlement would refer to the government plats as the definitive legal definition of properties.

The Library of Congress has some old maps of Reardan in its archives. These maps are Sanborn Fire Insurance maps used to ascertain the risks of insuring a particular property and maybe in limiting claims. These maps were done for the following years:

• 1894 (has a horse powered grain elevator and the school building)
• 1898 (has Washington Grain Co’s warehouse, before mill was built)
• 1902
• 1905
• 1909
• 1930 (has a lot of windmills in town. is the most complete map of the bunch)

These maps should be studied to see what what was there and the damage due to fires (or neglect). They do supply some information about various businesses in town.