Abandoned Record
About Santa Rita
Santa Rita, Texas is a ghost town near Brownsville in Cameron County, Texas, United States. It is believed to have been the first government seat in the county in 1848, and perhaps the earliest town to have been named by English-speaking people from the area.
This is a site record: what public sources say about Santa Rita, gathered in one place. We haven't written a full guide yet, so history, current access and photos are still to come. Treat the status as unknown until a guide confirms it.
Map
Where Santa Rita is
Historic maps
7 historic USGS maps cover Santa Rita
Topographic sheets from the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection (public domain), oldest first. Older sheets often show the camp, mines and roads while the place was alive. The downloads are large map scans; USGS topoView shows them in the browser.
- 1930 West Brownsville sheet, 1:24,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1936 West Brownsville sheet, 1:31,680 · GeoTIFF download
- 1953 Brownsville sheet, 1:250,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1956 West Brownsville sheet, 1:24,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1956 Brownsville sheet, 1:250,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1962 Brownsville sheet, 1:250,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1992 Brownsville sheet, 1:100,000 · GeoTIFF download
Directions
Getting there
Before you go
- Many ghost town sites are on private land, active mining claims or tribal land. Check land status and ask permission.
- Roads to old townsites are often unmaintained dirt. Map apps may route over closed or impassable tracks.
- Removing artifacts from public land is illegal under federal and most state laws.
Sources
Sources
- ghosttowns.com, "Santa Rita": county, roads, climate, best time to visit, remains.
- Wikipedia, "Santa Rita, Texas": coordinates and summary.
- Wikidata Q7419839.
- USGS GNIS 1380496.
- USGS 3D Elevation Program, elevation at the coordinates.
- USGS The National Map and Historical Topographic Map Collection (public domain).