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1961 Map of Kismet

Name: 1961 Topographic Map of Kismet
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1981
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1981

About this map

The agricultural landscape of Madera County is defined here by a dense grid of irrigation and transport infrastructure, centered on the settlement of Kismet. Two major rail lines, the Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe and the Southern Pacific, cut diagonally through the valley floor, meeting near the small station point of Notarb. The distribution of water, critical to this region's development, is managed through the Madera Canal and a Diversion Dam on Berenda Creek.

Evidence of the area's mid-century leisure and social life appears near the Fresno River, where the Madera Country Club and a Racetrack are established. The map also reveals older layers of movement, including an Old Railroad Grade that predates the modern alignments. The numbered avenues, from Avenue 24 down to Avenue 17 1/2, reflect the systematic organization of the Central Valley's productive ranching and farming tracts.