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1956 Map of Grayland

Name: 1956 Topographic Map of Grayland
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1977
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1977

About this map

The coastal interface of the Grays Harbor and Pacific County line reveals an specialized agricultural and maritime landscape defined by its wetlands. Extensive Cranberry Bog systems and the Evergreen Bog dominate the lowlands behind the Sand Dunes, showing how early 20th-century settlers adapted this moist terrain for commercial cultivation. The settlement of Grayland serves as the central hub, supported by a network of family-named thoroughfares such as Smith Road, Lungren Road, and Udell Hansen Road that partition the coastal plain.

Further inland, the terrain rises toward Seastrand Ridge, where the headwaters of the Cedar River and Seastrand Creek flow eastward away from the Pacific. Along the northern margins, South Bay and Beardslee Slough create a complex geography of Tidal Flats and islands, including Laidlaw Island. This 1956 survey, updated with 1973 photogrammetry, captures the region at a time when the Bay City area still reflected its industrial and seafaring roots near the mouth of the Elk River.