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1954 Map of Kernan Point

Name: 1954 Topographic Map of Kernan Point
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1963
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1963

About this map

The Snake River carves a deep canyon through the borderlands of Wallowa County and Idaho County in the mid-1950s. This survey by the Department of the Interior details the high plateaus and steep drainages of the Nezperce National Forest, where high points like Kernan Point and Grassy Knoll overlook a network of ridges including Windy Ridge and Sleepy Ridge. The settlement pattern is defined by isolated outposts and livestock operations such as Litch Ranch, Tryon Creek Ranch, and Dorrance Cow Camp, situated far from major towns.

A primitive Landing Strip near the confluence of Winters Gulch and Lord Ridge provides a vital aerial link to these remote canyons. For genealogists and local historians, the map preserves the locations of early 20th-century family holdings and seasonal camps, including the Kneeland Place and Somers Ranch. The landscape is a maze of named saddles and flats, from Sour Apple Flat to Hominy Saddle, reflecting the utilitarian naming conventions of early settlers and forest rangers who navigated this complex canyon system before modern infrastructure arrived.