1956 Map of Orting

About this map

The confluence of the Puyallup River and Carbon River anchors this mid-century look at Pierce County, where the settlement of Orting sits protected by a system of levees. The landscape reflects a mix of institutional presence and resource-based industry, featuring the State Soldiers Home south of the main townsite and the Puyallup River Fish Hatchery nestled near the riverbanks. Commercial transport is defined by the Northern Pacific and the Chicago Milwaukee St Paul and Pacific railroads, which parallel the watercourses and service small outposts like Crocker and Tanwax. To the east, the terrain rises sharply toward Spar Pole Hill, where numerous creeks such as Voight Creek and Beane Creek carve through the timbered uplands. This 1950s survey, updated with late-1960s cultural revisions, documents a valley floor transitioning between agricultural use and expanding infrastructure like the Microwave Relay Sta and local gravel operations.