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1960 Map of Thatcher

Name: 1960 Topographic Map of Thatcher
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1967
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1967

About this map

The Gila River valley in the early 1960s was a corridor of agricultural intensity and early Arizona settlement, anchored by the Southern Pacific railroad. Along this route, towns like Thatcher, Pima, and Central are surrounded by a complex network of irrigation infrastructure, including the Smithville Canal, Dodge Canal, and Union Canal. These waterways supported the local economy, evidenced by the Cotton Gin at Cork and various pumping stations that drew from the river and artesian wells.

To the south, the landscape rises sharply into the Pinaleno Mountains and the Coronado National Forest, where features such as the McEnery Tunnel and Frye Mesa Reservoir speak to water management and mineral exploration in the high country. For genealogists, this survey is particularly valuable for its documentation of numerous burial grounds, such as Ashurst Cem, Bryce Cem, and Hubbard Cem, as well as the campus of Eastern Arizona Jr College in Thatcher.