1942 Map of San Juan Capistrano

About this map

San Juan Capistrano serves as the inland anchor for this coastal area during the early 1940s, situated where San Juan Creek meets the fertile lands of the old Spanish ranchos. The coastline is defined by the burgeoning development of San Clemente and Capistrano Beach, while the Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe railroad and Route 101 provide the primary transit corridor between the bluffs and the Pacific Ocean. This survey, prepared by the Corps of Engineers just as World War II began, documents a landscape of large land holdings like Rancho Santa Margarita y Las Flores and specialized sites such as the US SCS Exp Sta and a CCC Camp. Moving south toward San Onofre, the terrain rises into the Onofre Bluffs, punctuated by industrial marks like the Tierra Colorado Clay Pit.