Loading map...

1942 Map of Modesto East

Name: 1942 Topographic Map of Modesto East
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1942
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1942

About this map

Agricultural development and water management define the landscape east of Modesto during the early 1940s. The region is heavily bifurcated by the Stanislaus River and Tuolumne River, which support an extensive irrigation network comprising the Modesto Canal, Ceres Canal, and numbered laterals. This complex water system facilitates the dense grid of rural schools serving the valley, including McHenry School, Robinson School, and Mills School.

Transportation hubs like the Modesto Airport and the Civil Aeronautics Airport reflect the era's growing aviation infrastructure, while the Burneyville Ferry at Riverbank denotes an older mode of river crossing. The map reveals the critical role of rail lines such as the Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe and Tidewater Southern in connecting agricultural settlements like Hughson, Empire, and Keyes to the broader California economy.