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1896 Map of Nueces

Name: 1896 Topographic Map of Nueces
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1911
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1911

About this map

The upper Nueces River valley in the early 1890s appears as a landscape defined by isolated ranching outposts and high limestone breaks. This survey by A.H. Thompson and R.U. Goode documents a transitional era for the Balcones Escarpment, where water sources like Kickapoo Spring, Black Water Hole, and Polecat Springs determined the placement of early settlements. Isolated family operations such as Ford and Holliday Ranch and Wheat and Luckys Ranch dot the creek drainage systems, illustrating the early footprint of the Texas Hill Country cattle industry.

Transportation is dominated by the Mc Kenzie Trail in the northwest, which provided access through the canyonlands before modern infrastructure existed. Named peaks like Bullhead Mt, Military Mt, and Shoe Peg Mt serve as prominent landmarks for navigation across the Edwards, Kinney, and Uvalde county lines. Early clusters of activity are visible at Barksdale and Camp Wood, providing a look at these canyon communities decades before the development of modern highway networks.