1940 Map of Cotulla

About this map

Cotulla serves as the regional hub for this South Texas landscape, situated where the Missouri Pacific and International-Great Northern railroads intersect. The serpentine Nueces River carves through the terrain from northwest to southeast, its course marked by Holland Dam and numerous oxbow features. The map illustrates a ranching economy defined by vast family-named holdings and scattered outposts, including the Albert Martin Ranch, Kitchel Bros Ranch, and the Fitch Ranch. In the northeast, the settlement of Los Angeles stands near Harriss Valley, while the isolated Buckholt School and nearby Ruins suggest the distribution of rural community life before mid-century modernization. The drainage patterns of Mustang Creek and Charco Marrano Creek define the arid rangeland between these distant ranch headquarters.