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1927 Map of Laton

Name: 1927 Topographic Map of Laton
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1927
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1927

About this map

The Kings River snakes through the heart of this landscape, marking the boundary between Fresno and Kings County within the historic Laguna de Tache grant. The area is defined by a sophisticated network of irrigation, featuring the Last Chance Ditch, Peoples Ditch, and Riverside Ditch, which transformed this arid San Joaquin Valley terrain into a productive agricultural region. The town of Laton serves as a central hub, situated where the Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe railroad crosses the river.

Further south and west, the Southern Pacific rail line connects smaller settlements like Hardwick and Lillis. Local life in the 1920s is anchored by rural institutions such as Grant School and Kings River School. The map reveals the intricate water management of the era, from the winding paths of Murphy Slough and Cole Slough to the engineered straight lines of Liberty Ditch, reflecting the period's intensive land development and rural settlement patterns.