1951 Map of Big Delta

About this map

Big Delta and the burgeoning Delta Junction serve as the focal points of this mid-century interior Alaskan survey, where the recently completed Alaska Highway meets the Richardson Highway. This junction marks a pivotal era of land-based transport and military expansion, with the Ladd Air Force Base Bombing and Gunnery Range occupying a significant portion of the western territory. The map documents early roadside infrastructure such as the Shaw Creek Lodge and Alaska Lodge, alongside the long-established Richardson settlement. The landscape is defined by the massive braided courses of the Tanana River, Little Delta River, and Gerstle River. For researchers, the presence of an Indian Village near Healy Lake and numerous isolated cabins along the Salcha River and Chena River provides a record of subsistence and early settlement patterns in the Fourth Judicial Division.