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1916 Map of Byron

Name: 1916 Topographic Map of Byron
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1948
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1948

About this map

The Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta landscape dominates this 1911 survey, showing a complex network of levees and reclaimed tracts at the height of its early agricultural development. The eastern half of the map is a maze of waterways including the Old River and Middle River, bordering massive reclamation projects like the Holland Tract, Bacon Island, and Woodward Island. These islands are dotted with numerous unnamed pumping plants, illustrating the immense engineering effort required to drain the delta for farming.

Transit hubs like Byron and Brentwood serve as anchors along the Southern Pacific line, while the Byron Hot Sprs resort and the Byron Hot Springs School mark the foothills to the west. Further south, the landscape transitions from the watery delta to the drier terrain of Canada de los Vaqueros. Evidence of the river-based economy is seen at White House Landing and the Bethany Ferry, which provided critical connections across the Old River before modern bridge infrastructure became commonplace.