1957 Map of Fraser

About this map

The Fraser River valley serves as a critical transportation corridor in this 1957 survey of Grand County, where the Denver and Rio Grande Western railroad tracks parallel the water through Tabernash and Fraser. The southern portion of the sheet captures the transition from mountain settlements to industrial engineering at the Moffat Tunnel and West Portal. This area, heavily shaped by the requirements of the Arapaho National Forest, shows a complex network of water management features, including the St Louis Ditch and an aqueduct, which divert alpine snowmelt from creeks like St Louis Creek. Settlement patterns reflect early 20th-century growth around rail and recreation, from the established buildings at Hideaway Park to the Idlewild Ranger Station and the rising profile of Winter Park near the Continental Divide portal.