1963 Map of Ballinger Ranch

About this map

Ballinger Ranch and Shafer Ranch anchor this landscape in Glasscock County, representative of the cattle ranching operations that defined the region in the early 1960s. The terrain is deeply inscribed by a drainage network comprising Polecat Creek, Middle Fork, and West Fork, all flowing through the undulating West Texas plains. Evidence of infrastructure is limited but significant, with a major Pipeline cutting across the central topography, signaling the energy sector's growing footprint alongside traditional ranching. These ranch outposts, paired with local Gravel Pit extractions, illustrate a rural economy reliant on both natural resources and land management in an arid environment before more intensive development altered the local character.