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1893 Map of Anson

Name: 1893 Topographic Map of Anson
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1945
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1945

About this map

Anson serves as the focal point of this late 19th-century survey, surrounded by a landscape defined by cattle country and the winding path of the Clear Fork of Brazos River. The topography of Jones and Shackelford Counties reveals a sparse network of early settlements such as Phantom Hill and Rising Sun, situated along the natural corridors of Deadman Creek and Elm Creek.

The presence of named locales like Sandersville, Lenoir, and Newsom suggests the early stages of township development before the era of intensive ranching consolidation. Numerous small watercourses, including California Creek and the oddly named Holy Creek, illustrate a territory where water access dictated the placement of every pioneer homestead and crossroads. This map preserves the layout of West Texas just as the frontier was being formally organized into the modern county system.