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1956 Map of Pearl

Name: 1956 Topographic Map of Pearl
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1969
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1969

About this map

Pearl sits at the northern edge of this high-altitude landscape, where the mining industry and ranching culture of northern Colorado met at the mid-century. The map documents the extraction history of the Park Range and the Sawtooth Range, notably featuring the Zirkel Mine, the Wolverine Mine, and the Swede Group Mines. A Smelter Stack near the settlement of Pearl serves as a prominent landmark of the era's mineral processing.

Water management is central to the terrain, with an intricate network of irrigation channels including the Republic Ditch, Helena Ditch, and Zirkel Ditch serving isolated homesteads like the Monahan Homestead and Plumb Homestead. From the heights of Mount Zirkel to the waters of Big Creek Lakes, the survey captures a wilderness being utilized for timber, water, and ore, while preserving the footprints of early Jackson County cattle operations at the Wilford Ranch and Shafer Ranch.