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1941 Map of Pitkin

Name: 1941 Topographic Map of Pitkin
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1954
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1954

About this map

Pitkin and Ohio City anchor this high-altitude landscape during the late 1930s and early 1940s, a period when the region's mining heritage remained visible through numerous active and named claims. The map reveals a dense network of extraction sites along the eastern gulches, including the Fairview Mine, Gold Links Mine, and Campbird Mine. This industrial footprint is balanced by local social infrastructure like the Sparta Sch and the geological curiosity of Waunita Hot Springs in the southern reaches.

Water serves as the primary surveyor of this terrain, with Quartz Creek and Tomichi Creek defining the valleys where settlements like Parlin took hold. The map captures a moment before major modern developments, showing the intricate relationship between the steep peaks of the Gunnison National Forest—such as Bronco Mtn and Fossil Mtn—and the creek-side roads that connected these isolated mining hubs to the larger world.