1953 Map of Needville

About this map

The town of Needville serves as the focal point of this coastal prairie landscape in the early 1950s, where the agricultural grid is increasingly defined by the burgeoning Texas petroleum industry. The presence of the Big Creek Oil Field and the Needville Oil Field is marked by numerous oil tanks, pipe lines, and gas wells that dot the terrain alongside more traditional landmarks like the hundreds of windmills that provided water for cattle and crops. Transport across the region is anchored by the Southern Pacific railroad and the 36th Division Memorial Highway, which links the local center to the small settlement of Pleak further north.