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1954 Map of El Rico Ranch

Name: 1954 Topographic Map of El Rico Ranch
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1957
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1957

About this map

The Tulare Lake Bed dominates this mid-century landscape in Kings County, revealing a highly engineered environment where water management dictated settlement patterns. Surveyed by the USGS during the administration of Governor Goodwin J. Knight, the map illustrates a transition from natural hydrology to intensive irrigation and reclamation. A complex network of levees and canals, including the Tule River and the Progressive Canal, crisscrosses the former lake bottom to support large-scale agricultural operations.

Remote outposts and family-named landmarks such as El Rico Ranch and Peterson Ranch are interspersed with several identified Labor Camps and the Richland Farms Camp, indicating the era's reliance on seasonal agricultural labor. Educational infrastructure is represented by the isolated Dallas School near the Helm-Lewis Ditch. This map serves as a detailed record of the Tulare Basin's transformation, capturing the grid-like expansion of access roads like Newton Avenue and Pueblo Avenue across the flat, reclaimed terrain.