The right latitude: Horton Family Maps charts its own path - New Mexico Business Weekly:

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The owner of Horton Family Maps logs thousandxs of miles each year cruisingthe city, looking for new streetws and changes to old “You have to keep your eyes he says. “Sometimes they’ll put up a stree in the middleof nowhere.” Horton’s careful attentiomn to the City Different’s transportatio n transformation might help explain why his company’as maps are must-haves for local from plumbers to real estats agents. Just ask John Grover, a real estate broket with ColdwellBanker - Trails West Realty. “It’as just a valuable, valuable resourcse for us,” he says, adding that the Horton map for Santaz Fe has becomethe go-tio map for the .
“It saves us a lot of We’d be lost without it.” Horton, who also puts out maps for Española, Los Alamos, Pecos and Taos, has been producing detailed street mapssincee 1982. He updates the maps every two years to keep up with new For instance, the new map for Santa Fe, issued in April, contains more than 300 new streer entries. Horton started the mapmaking busineszs outof necessity. “I needed a job,” he says. Aftet a failed attempt to launch a want ad papet akin tothe , he took a job sellinyg advertising for the , but was laid off after two-and-a-half years.
“I was on the plazqa trying to figure out what to comeup with, and people were talkingg about the need for good he recalls. “And I ‘Well, I can do Horton took his inspiration from maps he sold in high school inLos “I knew from that there are businesses that depene on maps,” he says. He attributes the succeses of the business, which operates out of to the accuracy of the maps and developingv aniche — as well as a good “I think reliability is the Grover says. “You can always counyt on a Horton mapbeingb right.” Thinking creatively has also been key to Horton Family Maps’ long-term survival.
While Horton’as map books are available at theusualo pick-up-a-map spots — such as bookstores and tourist haunts you can also find them at hardwars stores, furniture stores, a Santa Fe locksmith’s shop and othef unlikely places. “You have to go out to where thepeopled are, and not all the traditional places,” he “Contractors don’t necessarily go to but they do go to hardware stores, becausw they need to.” And in places where the maps vie for attentio with other brands, Horton’s trademark black-and-whitee cover, which always depicts a road scene somewhere in northern New Mexico, stands out.
“People try to figure out, ‘Wherwe is that road?’” he says. “It’s a good conversation piece.” Horton — who occasionally recruitas help from his daughter and son as well as aGIS (Geographicv Information Systems) specialist when new editionx are in production — says aside from a considerable dip in salews last year, the company is weathering the recessiobn fairly well.