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1946 Map of Monte Guilarte

Name: 1946 Topographic Map of Monte Guilarte
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1946
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1946

About this map

Monte Guilarte rises as a central landmark in this mid-century survey of the Cordillera Central, where the interior highlands of Puerto Rico are defined by a dense network of family-owned agricultural estates. The landscape is characterized by numerous haciendas, such as Hacienda Juanita, Hacienda Indiera, and Hacienda Santa Maria, illustrating the plantation-based economy of the 1940s. These estates are connected by narrow roads like 8 and 16, which wind through steep terrain marked by peaks like Cerro Avispa and Cerro Medina.

Social life in the mountain barrios is anchored by several local institutions, including the Iglesia de la Virgen Maria and the Escuela Segunda Unidad de Yahueca. Water systems are vital to these high-altitude settlements, with the Rio Guilarte and Rio Prieto carving deep valleys between the municipal boundaries of Lares, Adjuntas, and Yauco. The map provides a detailed view of the transition from traditional hacienda culture to the organized rural school and church infrastructure of the post-war era.