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1955 Map of Smeltertown

Name: 1955 Topographic Map of Smeltertown
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1972
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1972

About this map

The Rio Grande carves a path through this borderland landscape where El Paso meets the international boundary of Chihuahua, Mexico. This 1955 survey, updated with 1967 aerial photography, documents the industrial and cultural concentration of Smeltertown and Courchesne near the river's bend. The complex network of water management is visible through the Montoya Drain and Nemexas Drain, supporting the agricultural zones of Montoya while the rising slopes of the Franklin Mountains and Sierra de Cristo Rey define the eastern and western horizons.

The map details a unique convergence of transport and leisure, featuring the Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe railroad alongside the Sunland Park Racetrack and El Paso Country Club. Local institutions like St Patricks Mission and San Jose Ch provide essential markers for genealogists and researchers studying the community structure of the Texas-New Mexico-Mexico tri-point area during the mid-20th century.