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1931 Map of Buffalo Hump

Name: 1931 Topographic Map of Buffalo Hump
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1957
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1957

About this map

Nez Perce National Forest dominates this topographic study, where the steep canyons of the South Fork Clearwater River and Crooked River define a landscape of early 20th-century mining and ranching. The survey highlights a rugged interior economy of isolated claims and camps, from the Mother Lode Mine and Iron Crown Mine to the remote Ransoms Cabin. Settlement patterns follow the water and the ridges, with nodes of activity at Old Golden, Orogrande, and the settlement of Humptown near the prominent Buffalo Hump summit.

Remote infrastructure is meticulously documented, including several fire lookouts such as the Clear Creek Lookout Sta and the Iron Mtn Lookout Sta. For the local historian, the map preserves the locations of family-held properties like the Schwoebel Ranch and Gillespie Ranch, alongside early aviation history at the Dixie Meadows Landing Field. An ancient Indian Trail is also recorded, tracing a path through the high country between Johns Creek and Tenmile Creek.