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1949 Map of Cherokee

Name: 1949 Topographic Map of Cherokee
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1949
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1949

About this map

Cherokee and the neighboring hydraulic mining districts of Butte County appear here just after the war, showing a landscape deeply shaped by the search for gold. The massive Cherokee Placer Mine dominates the terrain near Sugarloaf, while smaller operations like the Cape Horn Mine (Aband) sit along the steep canyons of the West Branch Feather River. This era of water management is visible through the intricate Miocene Canal and numerous holding basins like Grub Flat Reservoir and Littlefield Reservoir.

Settlement patterns follow the ridges and river crossings, from the small community at Yankee Hill PO to the river-level site at Nelson Bar. Local infrastructure serving these gold-country families is well-documented, including the Concow School, Messilla Valley Sch, and the Clear Creek Cemetery. The transition from the high ridges of Clark Ridge down into the Messilla Valley illustrates the geography that defined 19th-century transit and industry in the northern foothills.