1944 Map of Fortuna

About this map

The Eel River and its broad floodplains anchor this mid-century portrait of Humboldt County, where timber and agriculture shaped the landscape. Industrial infrastructure is prominent throughout, notably the Lumber RR and the Northwestern Pacific railroad lines that connected the logging camps and mill towns like Fortuna and Scotia. The map captures a dense network of early rural education, marking numerous small schools such as Coffee Creek Sch, Grant Union Sch, and McDiarmid Sch that served the outlying farming families.