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1941 Map of Franklin

Name: 1941 Topographic Map of Franklin
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1942
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1942

About this map

Bradford Winery and the agricultural lands south of Sacramento define this 1941 landscape, which captures a critical moment in the development of Central Valley transit and irrigation. The map reveals an intricate network of competing rail lines, including the Southern Pacific (Niles Line) and the Central California Traction Railway, as they converge near Elk Grove and Galt. The transition from rural homesteads to more formalized settlements is evident in the density of local schoolhouses like Carroll Sch and Reese School, which served the farming families of Bruceville and Hicksville.

Along the winding Cosumnes River, the terrain shifts from the managed orchards of Florin to the low-lying floodplains near Stone Lake. Large-scale infrastructure projects, such as the Drainage Canal and the Sacramento Northern rail corridor, illustrate the engineering efforts required to reclaim this land for cultivation. For researchers, the presence of the Sacramento Co Old Mens Home and numerous named schools provides specific genealogical anchors within the Sacramento and San Joaquin county borderlands.