1939 Map of Big Wells

Water management is central to life in this arid brush country, illustrated by the presence of Encina Lake and the southern course of the Nueces River. Named ranches including the Butterworth Ranch, Kincaid Ranch, and Levering Ranch are scattered throughout the quadrangle, alongside dozens of smaller family farms and landmarks like Bermuda. The map documents a period of established ranching culture before later twentieth-century developments altered the rural settlement patterns of the Chaparral region.