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1953 Map of La Madera

Name: 1953 Topographic Map of La Madera
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1955
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1955

About this map

Mesa de la Jarita dominates this mid-century landscape in the Carson National Forest, where the complex geology of the La Madera Mountains meets a highly active mineral district. In the early 1950s, the area was a hive of extraction, featuring a concentrated network of mica and mineral claims. These include several operations marked active at the time of survey, such as the La Paloma Mine, Pineapple Group Mine, and Sunnyside Mine. An Ore Mill is even noted as being under construction, signaling a period of industrial investment.

Water and settlement follow the deep drainages of the Rio Vallecitos and Rio de Tusas. Small residential clusters and family-named landmarks like Rancho de Trujillo and Vallecitos anchor the valleys. The map provides a remarkable view of the localized economy before modern consolidation, tracing numerous named mines from the Blue Eagle No 1 Mine in the north to the Ancor Mine near the center, all connected by unimproved roads and trails across the high mesa.