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1947 Map of Santa Maria

Name: 1947 Topographic Map of Santa Maria
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1954
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1954

About this map

The Santa Maria Valley and surrounding central coast hills are captured here shortly after the war, showing a landscape defined by intensive agriculture and expanding energy infrastructure. The city of Santa Maria serves as the regional hub, flanked by early aviation sites like Machado Airfield and Hancock Airport. To the south, the terrain transitions into the Casmalia Hills and Los Alamos Hills, where the presence of an extensive Oil Field and numerous Oil Tanks near Orcutt indicates the scale of the local petroleum industry during this period.

Rural life is anchored by small settlements and canyon communities, including Sisquoc, Garey, and Bicknell. Educational outposts like Blockman Sch and Olive Sch appear alongside traditional land grants like Todos Santos y San Antonio. The southwestern corner is dominated by the Camp Cooke Military Reservation, reflecting the military's significant footprint in Santa Barbara County during the mid-century era.