1904 Map of Southern California Sheet No. 1

About this map

Los Angeles and its surrounding valleys at the start of the twentieth century appear here as a network of young citrus-belt towns and budding coastal developments. This regional overview, compiled from early surveys between 1893 and 1900, shows the inland reach of the Pacific Electric Ry. and the Southern Pacific R. R. as they spurred growth toward San Bernardino and Riverside. The landscape is defined by massive federal holdings like the San Gabriel Timber Land Reserve and several early tribal territories, including the Coahuila Indian Reservation. Along the coast, San Pedro Bay and Newport Bay reveal the maritime character of the shoreline before modern industrial harbor transformations. To the east, the map traces critical transit corridors through the Cajon Pass and San Gorgonio Pass, highlighting the geographical bottlenecks that shaped California's southern expansion.