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1919 Map of San Luis Ranch

Name: 1919 Topographic Map of San Luis Ranch
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1919
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1919

About this map

The San Joaquin River winds through this Merced County landscape, its banks defined by a complex network of seasonal waterways and overflow channels. During this era of early twentieth-century land use, the territory was dominated by large pastoral holdings, including Fremont Ranch, Underwood Ranch, and the eponymous San Luis Ranch. These tracts indicate the transition from open range to more structured ranching operations along the fertile but flood-prone river bottomlands.

Transportation patterns of a previous era are still visible through the inclusion of the Old Dickenson Ferry and the Old Santa Fe Grade, markers of historical transit across the riparian terrain. The hydrology is particularly intricate here, with the Salt Slough, Mariposa Slough, and Mud Slough weaving through the Sanjon De Santa Rita, illustrating the natural drainage system of the Central Valley before modern large-scale water management reshaped the region's surface flow.