Loading map...

1948 Map of Atwater

Name: 1948 Topographic Map of Atwater
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1948
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1948

About this map

Castle Field and the adjacent U S Military Reservation dominate the northern portion of this landscape, situated just north of the growing town of Atwater. The map illustrates a highly engineered agricultural environment, where the Canal system and various laterals feed orchards and fields bounded by an extensive grid of local roads like Fruitland Avenue and Mulberry Avenue. Two major rail lines, the Southern Pacific and the Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe, cut diagonally across the terrain, shaping the development of settlements like Buhach and Fergus.

Southward, the natural hydrology of Bear Creek and Black Rascal Creek gives way to the low-lying South Bear Creek Slough and Hartley Slough. A network of rural schools, including Buhach Sch, Applegate Sch, and Eschscholtzia Sch, suggests a distributed farming population. The southeastern corner reveals the early footprint of Merced near the Municipal Airport, marking the edge of a significant regional hub during this post-war era of California's Central Valley.