1953 Map of Shaver Lake

About this map

Shaver Lake and the hydroelectric infrastructure of the San Joaquin River dominate this Sierra Nevada landscape in the mid-1950s. The map captures an era of post-war development in eastern Fresno and Madera counties, where the high-altitude reservoirs supported an intricate network of powerhouses, including Powerhouse 1A and Powerhouse 8. The industrial utility of the terrain is evident in features like the Stevenson Railroad Grade and Mathews Mill, while the social fabric of the mountain communities is anchored by the Sierra Joint Union High School and the North Fork Indian Mission.