1950 Map of Burrel

About this map

Burrel and Lanare anchor this central California landscape during the mid-century, where the transition from riparian wetlands to organized agriculture is clearly visible. The survey captures a network of irrigation ditches and sloughs, most notably the meandering Fresno Slough and Murphy Slough, which cut through a strictly gridded system of section roads. The rural infrastructure is dense with local history markers, including several eponymous educational sites such as Elkhorn School, Bender School, and Crescent School. Large agricultural holdings like Burrel Ranch and West Lake Ranch illustrate the scale of land use in the San Joaquin Valley. Transportation is defined by the competing routes of the Southern Pacific and the Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe railroads, which facilitated the movement of goods from these remote agricultural hubs. The southern portion of the map follows the boundary with the Fresno and Kings County line near the Laguna de Tache.