1947 Map of Selma

About this map

The agricultural heart of the San Joaquin Valley is defined here by a dense grid of irrigation ditches and productive orchards at the close of the 1940s. Centered on Selma, this landscape is shaped by the presence of the Southern Pacific and the Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe railroads, which facilitated the region's growth as a major fruit processing and shipping hub. The map captures the social fabric of the era through numerous rural schools like Fruitvale Sch and Clay Sch, alongside the Odd Fellows Cem and Mendocino Cem. Evidence of early aviation appears at Paiva Intercity Landing Field and Selma Landing Field, marking a period of transition in local transportation. Further south, the town of Kingsburg sits near the banks of the Kings River, where the landscape begins to shift toward the Cole Slough and the Fresno and Tulare County line.