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1949 Map of Grass Valley

Name: 1949 Topographic Map of Grass Valley
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1968
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1968

About this map

Gold mining operations dominate the high ridges of Grass Valley and its surrounding hills during this 1949 survey. Extensive subterranean workings are represented by legendary names like the Empire Mine, North Star Mine, and Idaho-Maryland Mine, illustrating a landscape deeply defined by the extraction of the Mother Lode. Beyond the industrial core of Hills Flat and Spring Hill, the map reveals the transition toward agricultural and residential life in settlements such as Rough and Ready and Cedar Ridge.

The southern reaches are marked by the Camp Beale Military Reservation, while the Bear River flows along the boundary of Nevada Co and Placer Co. Evidence of early rural infrastructure is found in family-named routes like Dog Bar Road and Garden Bar Road, as well as the Forest Springs Sch. This document serves as a detailed record of the region's mid-century shift from an intensive mining economy to one of diverse land use around Combie Lake.