1952 Map of Van Vleck

About this map

Van Vleck serves as a focal point for this coastal prairie landscape, where the Southern Pacific and Gulf Colorado and Santa Fe railroads intersect. This 1952 topography, published later in the 1970s, reveals a rural economy heavily defined by petroleum extraction and complex water management. The terrain is a network of drainage features like Bucks Bayou, Snead Slough, and Hardeman Slough, alongside a systematic infrastructure of levees and flumes. Large-scale energy production is prominent across the quadrangle, evidenced by the North Bay City Oil Field and Sugar Valley Oil Field. Smaller rail-side settlements like McCroskey, Chalmers, and Camp Pierce dot the lines, while the Free System Cem and Van Vleck High Sch provide essential genealogical and social markers for researchers of Matagorda County history.