1888 Map of Meridian

About this map

Bosque River valley dominates this late nineteenth-century view, anchoring a landscape where river drainage and burgeoning rail lines dictated early Texas settlement. The town of Meridian sits at the crossing of the Gulf Colorado and Santa Fe Railroad, while to the northwest, Iredell serves as a key point on the Texas Central Railroad. This survey, conducted under the direction of J.W. Powell, illustrates a transition from the river-dependent outposts like Jonesborough on the Leon River to the upland gap settlements such as Cranfills Gap. The terrain is marked by family-named landmarks and distinctive elevations like Sugar Loaf Mountain and Johnson Peak, providing a clear look at the rural crossroads of Coryell and Bosque counties before the modern highway network altered these traditional trade routes.