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1894 Map of Gatesville

Name: 1894 Topographic Map of Gatesville
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1917
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1917

About this map

Gatesville serves as the focal point for this late 19th-century survey of Central Texas, where the early regional economy was defined by the arrival of iron rails. The St. Louis Arkansas and Texas Railroad parallels the Leon River, connecting settlements like Leon Junction and Fort Gates along the valley floor. To the south, the Gulf Colorado and Santa Fe Railroad cuts through the territory near Killeen and Coperas Cove, marking the path of expansion across Bell and Coryell counties.

Local industry is represented by Straws Mill on the Leon River, while the rugged topography of the Lampasas Cut Plain is detailed through numerous family-named landmarks and passes. Features such as McMillan Mountains, Graham Gap, and Shell Mountain reveal the difficulty of overland travel between the river drainage basins before modern highways. Smaller ranching outposts like Pidcock Ranch and community centers like The Grove anchor the rural landscape during this period of settlement.