1957 Map of Gold Hill

About this map

Gold Hill stands as the central hub of this mid-century survey, surrounded by a dense concentration of hard-rock mining operations that defined the local economy and settlement patterns for decades. The map documents an intricate network of tunnels and prospects, including the Ophir Mine, Victoria Mine, and the Corning Tunnel, reflecting the intensive extraction of minerals from the hillsides. While the mining legacy is dominant, the landscape also reveals a shift toward recreation and seasonal residency, marked by the Tahosa Boy Scout Camp and the Lodge of the Pines near the northern boundary. Small communities like Summerville, Salina, and Wallstreet are clustered along the drainage of Fourmile Creek and Lefthand Creek, where narrow canyons dictated the footprint of early development. The inclusion of the Gold Lake Ditch and numerous named gulches like Lick Skillet Gulch and Slaughterhouse Gulch provides specific geographic markers for genealogists and local historians tracing property lines and family mining claims in the Roosevelt National Forest.