1923 Map of Saltillo Ranch

About this map

The vast ranching country of South Texas is captured here in the early 1920s, a period when the landscape was defined by isolated outposts and vital water sources. The map centers on the namesake Saltillo Ranch and other established homesteads like San Pedro Ranch and San Ignacio Ranch. These hubs were connected by a network of trails across a terrain of subtle elevation changes and sandy dunes, where the location of deep wells provided the only reliable water for cattle and residents. To the east, the shoreline meets the shallow waters of the Laguna Madre, showing the intricate boundary between the mainland and the tidal flats near Lopena Island. The survey, conducted just after the war, documents these working ranch lands before modern infrastructure fundamentally altered the traditional patterns of the Kenedy County interior.