1953 Map of Alpaugh

About this map

Alpaugh and the surrounding Tulare County landscape appear here as a highly engineered agricultural environment in the early 1950s. The region is defined by a dense network of water management features, including the Homeland Canal, Lakeland Canal, and the Alpaugh Irrigation District Canal, which redirect flows to support local farming. The Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe railroad serves as the primary transport artery, cutting diagonally through the territory past the small settlements of Angiola and Stoil. This survey, compiled from 1946 aerial photography, illustrates a moment when the San Joaquin Valley's natural drainage, like Deer Creek and Elk Bayou, was being systematically integrated into a complex system of levees and reservoirs. Small-scale infrastructure like the Pump House near Alpaugh and various windmills across the sections highlight the local reliance on groundwater and surface irrigation.