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1921 Map of Briceland

Name: 1921 Topographic Map of Briceland
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1921
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1921

About this map

South Fork Eel River and the Mattole River dictate the settlement patterns of this Humboldt County region, surveyed just before the 1920s. Small ranching outposts and homesteads are scattered across the terrain, notably between Elk Ridge and Bear Buttes. Family-named properties like the Ben Stoddard Ranch, Sam Newhouse, and Groths Ranch illustrate the localized land use of the era, where isolated holdings were connected by a burgeoning State Highway system.

Along the waterways, established centers such as Briceland and Garberville serve as primary anchors for the surrounding timber and ranching communities. The mapping of smaller drainages like Redwood Creek and Sproute Creek shows a landscape deeply divided by its topography, where travel was limited to the river corridors and ridge-line trails. This tactical survey, overseen by Col. Chas. L. Potter, captures a period of early development before modern infrastructure altered the North Coast.