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1886 Map of Saint Thomas

Name: 1886 Topographic Map of Saint Thomas
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1902
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1902

About this map

Saint Thomas and Saint Joseph anchor a desert landscape defined by the convergence of the Virgin River and the Colorado River in this late nineteenth-century reconnaissance. The geography reveals a transit-heavy economy long before the creation of modern reservoirs, where movement depended on historic routes like the Old California Trail and the strategically placed Stone Ferry at the mouth of Boulder Canyon.

Settlement patterns follow the water, with Overton and Old Overton clustered near the Muddy Wash, while isolated industrial outposts like the Salt Mine hint at early resource extraction. The map preserves the locations of vital desert stops such as Old California Crossing and West Point, along with several springs and tanks necessary for travel across the Muddy Mountains and the Black Mountains. This survey captures the region just as the 1886 topography was being reissued at the turn of the century.