These two maps show the progress of the railroad. Johnson's map, created in 1862 before the NPRR had a charter, shows a far more northern route for the railroad. The proposed route avoided crossing the main body of the Missouri River. The 1873 map shows the actual route of the NPRR to that date. It follows a route familiar to North Dakota drivers today-Interstate 94. The railroad determined the location of the cities which were connected by the highway nearly 100 years later. Asher and Adams compiled this map twelve years after Dakota Territory was officially established. At that time, settlement still clung to the eastern edge of the territory, with the exception of a small settlement at "the crossing" named Edwinton, soon to be renamed Bismarck. Asher and Adams made railroad construction the focus of many of their maps. The Northern Pacific Railroad reached the Missouri River in June 1873. This 1873 map shows completed construction to Edwinton. The planned route to continue the Northern Pacific is shown with a plain line. Other railroads are concentrated in the southeastern corner of the territory near the capital city, Yankton. A couple of lines indicate planned routes for railroads that were not built.
