1942 Map of Amboy

About this map

Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe rail lines and the legendary route 66 define this high-desert corridor through San Bernardino County in the early 1940s. The landscape is marked by a series of critical watering holes and desert settlements, including Amboy, Essex, and Chambless, which served as vital stops for transcontinental travelers and rail workers. These outposts are flanked by massive dry basins such as Bristol Lake and Cadiz Lake, while isolated mountain ranges like the Providence Mountains and Old Woman Mountains rise from the desert floor. The inclusion of sites like Wilhelm Camp and Bonanza King Well highlights the region's reliance on scattered springs and wells to support life and industry. This survey by the Corps of Engineers, U. S. Army offers a precise look at the logistics of mid-century desert travel, where small stations like Siam and Bagdad were essential links in the Western transport network.