1940 Map of Plaster City

About this map

The industrial operations of Plaster City and the agricultural fringes of the Imperial Valley meet at the dawn of World War II. This landscape is defined by the Pacific Portland Cement Co railroad, which stretches north from the San Diego and Arizona Eastern tracks to serve the remote mineral deposits of the Fish Creek Mountains. The desert floor is a mix of transportation history and military utility, where the historic Overland Stage Route cuts across the Yuha Desert while large swaths of the terrain are designated as the U S Naval Reservation (Aerial Gunnery Range). In the southeast, the emergence of irrigation is evident near Dixieland through features like the Forget-Me-Not Canal and Dixie No 4 Drain, marking the transition from arid wasteland to productive farmland.