Loading map...

1955 Map of Kountze

Name: 1955 Topographic Map of Kountze
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1973
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1973

About this map

Kountze serves as the focal point for this mid-century look at Hardin County, where the logging and petroleum industries shaped the local landscape. The map captures a transition in transportation, showing the Gulf Colorado and Santa Fe and the Texas and New Orleans (Southern Pacific) railroads alongside evidence of earlier timber operations like the Kirby Lumber Tram and an Old Railroad Grade. This industrial footprint is further evidenced by the East Village Mills Oil Field and the Nona Mills Oil Field, which punctuate the dense network of creeks.

Local history researchers will find the site of Old Hardin (Historical) south of the modern county seat, along with several family-named burial sites such as Providence Cem and Bracken Cem. The terrain is characterized by intricate drainage systems including Village Creek, Cypress Creek, and the swampy Shaley Baygall, providing a clear view of the Piney Woods environment before late-century development altered these drainage patterns.