Philmont Scout Ranch, Cimarron, New Mexico

Denver, Colorado: Hirschfeld Press, [1956]. Map printed in blue, green and brown, 33" x 22". CONDITION: Very good, old folds. A scarce pictorial map of the Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico, one of the world's largest youth camps, depicting its rugged landscape.  This map shows the enormous 219 square mile ranch, located just west of Cimarron, its territory defined by a pinkish-brown line superimposed on a U.S. Geological Survey map from a survey undertaken between 1955 and 1956. Rich in outdoor adventure opportunities, the ranch lands are replete with canyons, lakes, mountains, lodges, springs, mesas, creeks, mines, trails, and numerous camps located (truncated) on creeks. The Ranch Headquarters is shown here situated south of Cimarron in a red grid on the far right; the land between Headquarters and Cimarron is described as "Buffalo Pasture." Various locales are identified pertaining to boy scout activities and lore, such as "Black Jacks Hideout" and "Lookout Tower." A site with"Indian Writings" is noted along Ponil Creek in the northeast portion of the ranch. Several mines are identified in the Copper Park region, a far northwestern portion of the ranch, including Aztec Mine, Deep Tunnel Mine, and French Henry Mine. Illustrations in the margins depict scouts and leaders hiking (in groups and solo), shooting guns and using bows and arrows, riding horses, and fishing. Stretching across the bottom is a view of a plain occupied by grazing buffalo and a mule-drawn wagon. The emblem of the Boy Scouts of America, with its spread eagle, appears below the map as well. Other illustrations include deer and buffalo heads, a wild cougar, scout tents and the Ranch headquarters variously distributed in the margins.  The Philmont Scout Ranch covers some 140,177 acres (219 sq. mi) of wilderness in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in northern New Mexico. Since its first camping season in 1939, it has hosted upwards of one million scouts, leaders, and adventurers. Formerly owned by the oil baron Waite Phillips, the Ranch is now the property of the Boy Scouts of America and serves as a National High Adventure Base. An attractive map of the Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico, revealing its diverse terrain and the wealth of adventure opportunities for those attending.  OCLC records just two copies, at Museum of New Mexico and Northwest Ohio Region Book Depository.  REFERENCES: "About Philmont" at Philmont Scout Ranch online. (Inventory #: 4232)