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1911 Map of Ostrom

Name: 1911 Topographic Map of Ostrom
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1911
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1911

About this map

The Feather River meanders along the western edge of this 1911 survey, defining the shifting boundary between Yuba and Sutter counties through sharp turns like Eliza Bend and Shanghai Bend. This landscape is dominated by the expansive Plumas Lake and its surrounding wetlands, including Messick Lake and Abbott Lake, which drain into the river system. The presence of the Johnson Rancho land grant in the southeast corner reflects the area's deep history of large-scale land holdings dating back to the Mexican era.

Transportation infrastructure drives the settlement patterns here, with three distinct rail lines—the Southern Pacific RR, Western Pacific RR, and the Northern Electric RR—cutting north-south across the valley floor. Small community hubs like Ostrom and Alicia are interspersed with rural centers of learning, such as Ella School and Plumas School, illustrating a late-frontier agricultural society transition into a more connected rail-and-river economy.