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1959 Map of Eureka

Name: 1959 Topographic Map of Eureka
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1961
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1961

About this map

Humboldt Bay and Arcata Bay define this 1959 coastal landscape, where the shifting Samoa Dunes separate the open Pacific Ocean from a complex system of sloughs and tidal channels. The mid-century urban core of Eureka is shown in high detail, featuring the State Historical Monument and County Hospital, while to the north, Arcata serves as a hub for the region, anchored by the Humboldt State College campus.

Transport and industry are deeply integrated into the terrain, from the Northwestern Pacific Railroad tracking the shoreline to the Humboldt Logging Road reaching into the timberlands. Small communities like Fieldbrook, Indianola, and Bayside dot the lowlands and foothills, connected by routes such as the Bayside Cutoff and U.S. 101. This map captures a moment when the coastal economy relied on a balance of shipping, logging, and education, before later 20th-century development altered the outskirts of these redwood-country settlements.