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1954 Map of Hobbs

Name: 1954 Topographic Map of Hobbs
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1974
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1974

About this map

The High Plains and Permian Basin transition is captured here in 1954, as the oil industry reshaped the landscape of the Texas-New Mexico border. Industrial hubs like Hobbs and Lovington anchor a vast network of oil fields, pipelines, and pump stations that stretch across the Querecho Plains and into the Mescalero Sands. Small company towns and ranching outposts such as Humble City, Monument, and Frankel City are plotted amidst a terrain marked by numerous sinkholes and dry washes like Monument Draw.

Geological features define the western edge of the sheet, where the Mescalero Ridge drops off toward Big Sinks and the Paduca Breaks. The infrastructure of the era is remarkably detailed, showing the T & P RR and At & SF RY rail lines serving the booming petroleum region. From the southern reaches of Jal and Bennett up to the northern grain and oil elevators of Seagraves, the map documents a period of rapid mid-century expansion.