1979 Map of Paulden

About this map

Prescott National Forest dominates the high desert terrain of central Arizona, where the massive plateau of Black Mesa meets the deep cuts of Limestone Canyon and Hell Canyon. In the late 1970s, the community of Paulden and the rail junction at Drake served as primary touchpoints for this transition between the Chino Valley grasslands and the timbered forest. The landscape is heavily marked by the legacy of Western transportation, defined by the active Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad and remnants of the past visible as an Old Railroad Grade. This transport network supported a local economy of resource extraction, evidenced by scattered Borrow Pits, Quarries, and a Cinder Pit. Water management is central to life here, with named improvements like Hells Well, Peavine Tank, and Roper Tank providing essential water sources across the arid valleys and limestone reaches.