Grid Map Ceiling

A magnificent map is presented on the ceiling tiles of the museum area. There are over 175 acoustic tiles that are printed with historical landowner names and farm photographs. Each 2' x 2' tile represents one section (the section number is indicated) and is divided into quarters. Each quarter includes a list of three owners - the homesteader, the 1961 owner and the 2011 owner (Gray's centennial year). An aerial photograph was included, if a farm was located there in the early 1960's. The ceiling area includes three communities along Highway #306 - Estlin, Gray and Riceton (couldn't quite fit Bechard). Most of the land locations are from the Rural Municipalities of Bratt’s Lake 129 and Lajord 128. There are town and highway signs (#6 and #306) to help define the locations of Estlin, Gray and Riceton.

The project was extra challenging because the tiles needed to be 'upside-down' to orientate correctly when inverted and installed overhead. The northwest and northeast quarters had to be on the bottom of the printed tile - so, when the tiles are viewed above your head the quarters read  correctly for north and south. The creator was quite proud of the fact that there were no errors in this procedure.
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Fortunately, there was a previous resident willing to take on the install project and handled the angles required (as #306 runs southeast - not on the square) beautifully. We were able to account for the correction line easily as the ceiling grid system allowed 6" adjustments. Sections that couldn't be included in the correct location due to light fixtures are included in a separate area and designated with letters to identify where each would be located.

Photos were sourced from Aerial Farm Photos. ​Color blocking was just done to help define Townships (6-mile square areas).
More information on Section-Township-RangeW2.