1930 Map of Barreda

About this map

Resaca de los Cuates winds through the alluvial landscape of the lower Rio Grande valley, defining the drainage patterns and early settlement hubs of southern Cameron County. This 1930 survey, which utilizes early aerial photography by the U.S. Geological Survey, details a region transitioning into intensive irrigation and rail-based agriculture. The St Louis Brownsville and Mexico Railway cuts a straight diagonal across the oxbows, anchoring the community of Barreda and the nearby Barreda Park. Local infrastructure is prominent, from the District No 6 Second Lift Pumping Sta to the historic Old Military Road. The map also captures several family-named ranching sites such as Soldado Ranch and Naranjo Ranch, alongside Naranjo Vista, illustrating the localized land divisions and community centers established before mid-century modernization changed the rural character of the borderlands.