1956 Map of La Grange

About this map

The Colorado River winds through the heart of Fayette County, serving as the central axis for a landscape defined by its turn-of-the-century rail networks and rural farming settlements. Based on military field work from 1912 to 1919, this map details the complex junction of the Missouri Kansas and Texas Railway and the Galveston Harrisburg and San Antonio Railway at La Grange. These iron arteries, along with the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway to the south, supported a cluster of ethnically diverse agricultural communities including Swiss Alps, Ammansville, and Rutersville. The terrain south of the river transitions into the headwaters of the Navidad River and Middle Navidad River, where a grid of fenced roads connects outlying hamlets like Freyburg and O'Quinn. The presence of numerous river fords and the prominent Bluff south of the county seat illustrate the importance of topography to early Texas transportation and settlement patterns.