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1887 Map of Lampasas

Name: 1887 Topographic Map of Lampasas
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1887
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1887

About this map

Lampasas serves as the primary hub of this Central Texas landscape, captured in the late 1880s as the Gulf Colorado and Santa Fe Railroad provided critical connectivity to the region. The map details a transition from the river-fed valleys of the Colorado River and its numerous tributaries like School Creek and Sulphur Creek to a more broken upland terrain marked by family-named landmarks and essential early commerce.

Settlement patterns appear as small clusters and mills, such as Townsen Mills on White Creek, and now-obscure locales like Wayback and Senterfitt. The terrain is defined by a series of significant passes including Antelope Gap, Castle Gap, and Higgins Gap, which dictated the routes of early travel through the hills. For the genealogist or local researcher, the placement of these early communities alongside peaks like Kinchelo Peak and Potters Peak offers a clear view of the Texas frontier just as the railroad era was cementing these towns in place.