1914 Map of Gay Hill

About this map

Independence and the surrounding farmsteads of Burleson and Washington Counties anchor this pre-World War I landscape. The erratic course of the Brazos River dominates the eastern boundary, where its meanders created seasonal features like Clay Lake and left behind the oxbow of the Old River. This era was defined by a dense network of local education, evidenced by the numerous rural schoolhouses such as Allseeing Eye School, Merle School, and Union Grove School that served dispersed agricultural communities.