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1889 Map of Granbury

Name: 1889 Topographic Map of Granbury
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1896
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1896

About this map

The Brazos River carves a dramatic, winding path through this North Texas landscape, defining the character of the late 19th-century frontier. Major meanders like De Cordova Bend, Abby Bend, and Mitchell Bend illustrate the natural barriers that early settlers encountered near Granbury and Glenrose. The terrain is marked by distinctive limestone features and gaps, such as Comanche Peak, Chalk Mountain, and Skippers Gap, which served as vital landmarks for navigation and cattle movement before the widespread fencing of the range.

Transportation networks are caught in a moment of transition, showing the Fort Worth and Rio Grande Railroad and the Gulf Colorado and Santa Fe Railroad beginning to influence the placement of towns like Kopperl and Morgan. Older settlements like Thorps Springs and the site at Fort Spunky highlight the earlier era of colonization. The survey captures a finely detailed network of local branches and knobs that provided the foundations for family homesteads across Hood, Somervell, and Bosque counties.