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1961 Map of Mentone

Name: 1961 Topographic Map of Mentone
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1963
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1963

About this map

Mentone serves as the focal point of this arid landscape in the early 1960s, defined by the industrial expansion of the Wheat Oil Field. The map reveals a complex infrastructure of pipelines, numerous oil wells, and the Porterville Pumping Sta, all supporting the region's petroleum economy. Despite the industrial footprint, the presence of established homesteads such as Moorehead Ranch, Goodrich Ranch, and Wheat Ranch suggests a enduring ranching tradition that shares the land with the drill rigs and quarries.

The southern portion of the quadrangle is dominated by the winding course of the Pecos River, which carves through the terrain to form the Texas Bend. Along the river's southern bank, the Panhandle and Santa Fe railroad line runs parallel to the water, connecting these remote reaches of Loving, Ward, and Reeves Counties to larger trade networks. This survey preserves a specific moment when a Landing Area and a local Swimming Pool stood as communal landmarks in a landscape otherwise preoccupied with extraction and livestock.