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1967 Map of Fort Garland

Name: 1967 Topographic Map of Fort Garland
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1982
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1982

About this map

Fort Garland serves as the focal point of this Costilla County survey, positioned where the Denver and Rio Grande Western railroad crosses the high plains. The landscape is defined by the legacy of the Sangre de Cristo Grant and the essential movement of water through an extensive network of man-made channels, including the Trinchera Canal and the Sangre de Cristo Trinchera Diversion Canal. To the southeast, the Mountain Home Reservoir anchors the irrigation system at the base of the mountains.

Local history is deeply rooted in the Old Fort Garland Military Reservation (Museum), marking the site's importance to frontier defense and settlement. Genealogists will find several family-named burial sites scattered across the landscape, such as MacMullan Cem, Myer Cem, and Brennaman Cem. Educational and social life is represented by the Sierra Grande Sch and the neighboring community of Blanca, showing the transition from military outpost to an established agricultural and rail-oriented society.