1955 Map of Watkins SE

About this map

Lowry Air Force Base Bombing Range occupies a significant portion of this landscape on the border of Arapahoe and Elbert counties. The terrain is defined by the drainages of Coal Creek and Box Elder Creek, which carve through the plains south of Watkins. This mid-century survey captures a transitional period of land use where agricultural remnants, such as the Sehley Sch (Aban'd), sit adjacent to the expanding Military Reservation Boundary. The presence of an Observation Tower suggests the tactical observation requirements of the era's training missions. Local history researchers can trace the old section lines and seasonal waterways like Hay Gulch that structured early settlement before the area was repurposed for defense operations.