1948 Map of Bear Valley

About this map

Bullion Mountains and the gold-rich canyons of the Merced River define this post-war landscape in the Sierra foothills. The region is heavily marked by its mining legacy, featuring an extensive network of claims including the Pine Tree Mine, Josephine Mine, and the Mountain King Mine (Abandoned) along the northern river bends. Settlement is clustered around the historic community of Bear Valley and its Bear Valley Sch, while smaller enclaves like Trabucco Gardens and Pendola Gardens occupy the lower gulches. The infrastructure of the late 1940s is evident in the inclusion of the Mariposa Airport and an Airway Beacon, showing the transition from a nineteenth-century mining economy to a modern transportation corridor along State Route 49.