1952 Map of Jersey Island

About this map

Jersey Island and the surrounding Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta appear as an intricate network of reclaimed tracts and sloughs in the early 1950s. The landscape is defined by the massive levee systems protecting the Webb Tract, Bradford Island, and Twitchell Island. At the southern edge, Bethel Island shows early development with localized roads like Piper Road and Sunset Drive, while the small settlement of Emmaton sits along the Sacramento River. Transport patterns of the era are visible in the path of the Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe railroad crossing the southern marshlands near Big Break. This hydrographic study, influenced by the work of State Engineer A. D. Edmonston, detail the region's complex water management, from the Mayberry Slough Facility Military Reservation to the numerous gas wells dotting the northern islands.