1955 Map of Mississippi Creek

About this map

Henry W Coe State Park encompasses a significant portion of this terrain along the rugged border of Stanislaus and Santa Clara counties. The landscape is defined by its complex drainage network, where the headwaters of Mississippi Creek and its South Fork intersect with the steep relief of Bear Mtn and Grassy Ridge. This mid-century survey, updated in the early 1970s, captures the primitive access routes that existed before modern park development, showing a network of jeep trails winding through landmarks like Poverty Flat and Manzanita Point. Water sources such as Hoover Lake and Bear Springs appear as isolated markers in a landscape otherwise dominated by the sharp elevation changes of Rock House Ridge and the Willow Ridge divide. The map provides a detailed record of this ranching and wildland area during a period of transition into protected state park land.