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1944 Map of Fortuna

Name: 1944 Topographic Map of Fortuna
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1944
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1944

About this map

The Eel River and Van Duzen River define the agricultural and industrial landscape of this Humboldt County region during the early 1940s. The hub of Fortuna sits at the center of a transit network, where the Redwood Highway and the Northwestern Pacific RR facilitate the movement of local timber and goods. To the north, the map details the intricate tidal flats of Humboldt Bay, featuring coastal settlements like Fields Landing and Beatrice.

Rural life is marked by an exceptional density of one-room schoolhouses serving the dairy and ranching communities on Sandy Prairie and the surrounding hills, including Grizzly Bluff Sch, Pleasant Point Sch, and Coffee Creek Sch. Evidence of the timber industry is prominent in the eastern highlands, with a Lumber Camp and the specialized Jones Prairie Railroad carved into the steep gulches. Coastal geography is highlighted by the prominent Table Bluff and the shifting sands of the South Spit protecting the harbor entrance.