1963 Map of Hart SW

About this map

North Fork Running Water Draw and Running Water Draw carve winding ephemeral paths through the Llano Estacado on the High Plains of the Texas Panhandle. In the early 1960s, this landscape was defined by the transition from ranching to an intensive groundwater-based agricultural economy, shown here through an extensive grid of irrigation wells across the county line between Castro Co and Lamb Co. The presence of the Thompson Gin in the southern portion of the map indicates the local importance of cotton processing during this era. Scattered cattle infrastructure, such as the Corral in the west, persists alongside modern energy developments like the subterranean Pipeline. Numerous depression ponds, or playas, dot the surface, reflecting the unique hydrology of a region where every drop of water was vital to the emerging West Texas farm belt.