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1915 Map of Christmas

Name: 1915 Topographic Map of Christmas
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1957
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1957

About this map

Mining operations and remote ranching outposts define the early twentieth-century character of this rugged terrain along the Gila County and Pinal County border. The settlement of Christmas serves as a primary focal point, situated near the Arizona Eastern railroad line as it follows the course of the Gila River. The landscape is heavily marked by resource extraction, from the Lower Coal Field Mine in the east to a cluster of operations near the river including Pools Mine, Lees Mine, and the Two Queens Mine at Two Queens Gulch.

North of the river, the San Carlos Indian Reservation encompasses the Mescal Mountains, where isolated water sources like Mescal Warm Spring and Dicks Spring supported early livestock operations such as O Ranch and Duttles Ranch. This survey captures the transition from frontier ranching to industrial mining, evidenced by the presence of an Old Mill and the emergence of rail infrastructure through the canyon at the Needles Eye.