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1957 Map of Waddell

Name: 1957 Topographic Map of Waddell
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1958
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1958

About this map

Luke Air Force Base occupies the southeastern corner of this Maricopa County landscape, where the flat desert floor meets the rising slopes of the White Tank Mts. This late-1950s survey documents a highly organized agricultural and military corridor defined by a rigid grid of roads like Bethany Home Road and Waddell Avenue. Major water management infrastructure, including the Trilby Wash Detention Basin and the White Tank Mts. Detention Basin Levee, protects the nascent settlements and farms from mountain runoff.

Small rural hubs and rail sidings such as Waddell, Fennemore, and Citrus Park (Siding) are linked by the Santa Fe and Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe railroad line. The map also identifies the White Tank Mts. Proving Grounds, illustrating the era's intersection of defense operations and desert reclamation. Numerous reservoirs and irrigation features suggest the intensive effort to cultivate this arid region before the massive suburban expansion of later decades.