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1963 Map of Kelton NW

Name: 1963 Topographic Map of Kelton NW
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1965
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1965

About this map

Sweetwater Creek and its many tributaries, including Jenkins-Jones Creek and Coburn Creek, carve a winding drainage pattern across this portion of the Texas Panhandle. The landscape in the early 1960s is defined by a sparse ranching and utility network, where small-scale infrastructure like a solitary Water Tank and several Pipeline corridors cross the open terrain. The mapping reveals the practical industrial footprint of the era, marked by a Gravel Pit and a Borrow Pit used for local road maintenance.

Evidence of early settlement and resource management appears in the northern reaches, where Wells and several unnamed farmsteads are connected by a grid of light-duty and unimproved dirt roads. The transition between the high plains and the creek valleys is sharp, with numerous seasonal washes like Goodin Creek and Silver Creek feeding into the main Sweetwater drainage, illustrating the critical role of water in this semi-arid geography.