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1933 Map of Lancaster

Name: 1933 Topographic Map of Lancaster
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1933
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1933

About this map

Lancaster sits at the northern edge of this high desert survey, organized around a rigid grid of early road-building in the western Antelope Valley. The landscape is dominated by the linear path of the Southern Pacific railroad and the parallel Sierra Highway, which anchor the region's transport economy. To the west, the isolated peak of Quartz Hill and the southern rise of Ritter Ridge break the flat expanse of the valley floor.

One of the most distinctive social features of the era is the Lancaster Tubercular Rest Home, located northwest of the main town. Its presence reflects the early 20th-century history of the region as a destination for sanatoriums, where the dry desert air was sought for medical treatment. The map also captures several named road corridors like Del Sur Road and Tierra Bonita Road, marking the foundational infrastructure before the significant post-war expansion of the Los Angeles basin into this territory.