1949 Map of Wade Ranch

About this map

Wade Ranch serves as the focal point of this Chaves County landscape, documented during a 1949 survey that captures the infrastructure of New Mexico's ranching and early petroleum industries. The terrain is defined by dry drainage systems such as Long Draw and Sand Draw, alongside isolated water sources critical for livestock, including Horse Pasture Tank and Cockle Burr Lake. Evidence of industrial exploration and transit is clear along the southern portion of the map, where the Old Pipeline Road cuts across the desert floor near an Oil Well (Abnd). The map also identifies secondary centers of activity like Annaya Well and East Well, illustrating how water management and sparse settlements were strategically placed to support life and labor in this arid environment before mid-century modernizations.