1958 Map of Cochise

About this map

Willcox Playa dominates the center of this high-desert basin, a massive dry lake bed surrounded by the ranching and mining developments of the Sulphur Spring Valley in the late 1950s. The Southern Pacific railroad provides a primary corridor through the region, passing through the town of Willcox and the settlement at Cochise, where the Cochise Overpass marks a key crossing. To the west, the foothills of the Red Bird Hills and the Coronado National Forest reveal a history of extraction at the Red Bird Mine and Golden Rule Mine. This period captures the agricultural expansion of the Kansas Settlement and the operation of the Sulphur Spring School, providing a detailed view of the rural infrastructure before modern interstate development. Small family holdings like the Steele Ranch and Flanders Ranch are mapped alongside technical landmarks such as a Radio Range Station and a Cotton Gin.