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1953 Map of Boylston

Name: 1953 Topographic Map of Boylston
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1993
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1993

About this map

The Chicago Milwaukee St Paul and Pacific railroad carves a winding path through this portion of Kittitas County, serving the small stops of Boylston and Cheviot. This 1950s landscape is defined by its dramatic drainage patterns, where deep incisions like Schnebly Coulee and Rocky Coulee descend from the higher elevations of the Boylston Mountains. The presence of the Kittitas Radio Facility and its associated Tower indicates the importance of this high ground for communication infrastructure during the mid-century.

Water sources are critical markers in this arid environment, with Poison Spring and Foster Spring appearing alongside seasonal flows like Johnson Creek and Dick Creek. Local transportation and movement follow the natural contours of the land, specifically through Johnson Canyon and Middle Canyon. For the historian, the map preserves the specific rail-side orientation of these small settlements before the late-20th-century shifts in regional infrastructure.