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1918 Map of Bone Spring

Name: 1918 Topographic Map of Bone Spring
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1918
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1918

About this map

The Santiago Mountains dominate this 1917 survey, carving a sharp diagonal through Brewster County. The landscape is defined by the vital network of water sources and ranching outposts necessary for survival in the Trans-Pecos. Key transportation routes like the Marathon Road and Boquillas Road connect remote points such as the Old Wax Plant and Greene Ranch. Significant natural breaks in the range, including Persimmon Gap and Dog Canyon, dictate the movement of travelers and livestock through the territory.

Evidence of early 20th-century life is scattered across the flats and draws, from the Adobe House in the west to Penners Ranch in the east. Numerous man-made improvements to the arid land are visible, such as Cow Heaven Tank, Edwards Well, and the namesake Bone Spring. This map captures a specific era of Texas frontier history where the cattle industry and small-scale industrial attempts, like wax production, were etched into the desert floor.