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1947 Map of Madera

Name: 1947 Topographic Map of Madera
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1947
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1947

About this map

The agricultural and industrial center of Madera serves as the focal point of this 1946 culture revision, where the Southern Pacific and Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe railroads converge. The local economy is anchored by the presence of the Madera Winery and the Madera Municipal Airport, highlighting a period of significant post-war infrastructure. Surrounding the urban grid, a network of rural schoolhouses such as Howard Sch, Alpha Sch, and Arcola Sch reflects the distributed farming communities of the Central Valley.

Water management is clearly defined by the Fresno River and the Madera Canal, which cut through the landscape alongside the smaller Cottonwood Creek. To the southeast, the small settlements of Storey and Borden mark established stops along the rail lines, while the County Hospital and Sharon Bible Sch indicate the essential social services of the era. The map provides a detailed view of the transition between the town's dense residential core and the expanding irrigation-driven agriculture that defined Madera County at mid-century.