1952 Map of Ponce

About this map

The agricultural landscape of southern Puerto Rico is dominated by a complex network of estates and sugar production facilities at the middle of the century. Central Mercedita stands as a primary industrial hub, connected to the coastal plains by the American RR of Puerto Rico and the Ponce and Guayama RR. The terrain transitions from the dense urban barrios of Ponce and Alhambra into the steep foothills of the Cordillera Central, where numerous named haciendas such as Hacienda Arbona, Hacienda Usera, and Hacienda Monserrate are situated along the river valleys of the Río Cerrillos and Río Inabon. Water management for this productive region is evident in the string of numbered reservoirs, Lago No 1 through Lago No 5, and the larger Lago Guayabal to the northeast. These features illustrate the intensive relationship between the island's interior watersheds and the industrial sugar economy that defined the era.