Loading map...

1942 Map of Cape San Martin

Name: 1942 Topographic Map of Cape San Martin
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1942
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1942

About this map

The Hunter Liggett Military Reservation dominates the interior of this coastal region during the early years of World War II. Along the jagged Pacific shoreline, small settlements like Gorda and Plaskett are connected by a primitive road network, while the hills above are marked by a legacy of resource extraction. Mining operations are scattered throughout the Santa Lucia Range, including the Melville Mine, Gorda Mine, and the Calizona Mine (abandoned).

Tracing the inland drainages of the Nacimiento River and Stony Creek, the landscape is defined by remote outposts such as the San Miguelito Ranch and Krenkel Ranch. Further south near the border of Monterey and San Luis Obispo counties, the map identifies the W R Hearst Foreman's Headquarters, signaling the significant landholdings of the Hearst family in this era. Rural education is represented by the Pacific Valley Sch and Polar School, serving the isolated families living among the high peaks like Silver Peak and Bald Top.