1868 Stebbins and Lloyd Map of Nebraska, Dakota, Montana, Idaho

This is an 1868 Henry Stebbins and H. H. Lloyd map of Nebraska and the Northern Territories exhibiting an ephemeral configuration of the northern plains. Nebraska, Idaho, and Montana are recognizable, but 'Dakota' contains North and South Dakota and an unlabeled Wyoming is identified simply as 'Unexplored Territory'.

An Ephemeral Dakota Territory

This configuration of the western United States lasted only four years. In 1863, Idaho Territory was created out of the Dakota Territory (Dakotas, Montana, and northern Wyoming). This new territory removed modern-day Montana and the northern half of modern-day Wyoming from the Dakota Territory as well as most of the Nebraska Territory's panhandle. Then, in 1864, with the creation of the Montana Territory out of Idaho Territory, what would become Wyoming was attached Dakota, creating the awkward 'two square' configuration illustrated here. Wyoming Territory was created on July 25, 1868, four years later. Given the presence of the vertical dashed line between Montana and Nebraska, it is likely that Stebbins and Lloyd were working on this map while the legislation establishing the Wyoming Territory was being debated in Congress. We note a later edition published in the 1869 edition of Stebbins' Atlas that labels Wyoming, suggesting the present example may have been printed in the first half of 1868.

A Closer Look

A contrast in detail and settlement, counties in Nebraska and eastern Dakota are shaded different colors, creating an intriguing contrast with the monotone colors in Minnesota and Iowa. Cities and towns are labeled, with few settlements appearing farther west. Most of the western settlements are situated along the Union Pacific Railroad route as it winds its way across Nebraska and through (soon to be) Wyoming to the Great Salt Lake in the lower left. The Pacific Telegraph Route follows much the same route, although along the North Fork of the Platte River through western Nebraska and Wyoming. The Pike's Peak and California Express Route is illustrated and labeled, as is a the 'Overland Route to the Gold Mines' in Montana and Idaho. Two proposed routes for the Northern Pacific Railroad are illustrated from Minnesota across the Dakota Territory, through the Montana and Idaho territories to the map's left border. A beautiful illustration of the Black Hills appears in the Dakota Territory between Montana and Nebraska.

Publication History and Census

This map was created from surveys directed by H.F. Walling and published for Henry Stebbins by H. H. Lloyd and Company in Stebbins'Atlas of the State of Ohio From Surveys under the Direction of H. F. Walling; To which is added an Atlas of the United States. The separate map is not cataloged in OCLC or elsewhere and the atlas appears in a dozen collections across the United States. At least two editions of the atlas were published, the first in 1868 and the second in 1869. The map of Nebraska and the Northern Territories was updated for the 1869 edition of the atlas, naming Wyoming, which is not present on the first edition.