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1932 Map of Stevens

Name: 1932 Topographic Map of Stevens
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1932
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1932

About this map

The Kern River meanders through this agricultural landscape in Kern County, defining a region where water management was paramount in the early 1930s. A complex network of irrigation channels, including the Rio Bravo Canal, Pioneer Canal, and Buena Vista Canal, crisscrosses the terrain to support the burgeoning valley farms. The map reveals the industrial footprint of the petroleum industry with the Rio Bravo Oil Pumping Sta located near the Munzer Sch, highlighting the proximity of resource extraction to local rural communities.

Transportation corridors are anchored by the Southern Pacific railroad line, which passes through the small settlement of Stevens. Local life is further marked by the presence of the Buena Vista Sch near the Buena Vista Canal, while major thoroughfares like the Taft Highway and Pensenger Road provide connections to the surrounding oil fields and nearby Bakersfield. This survey captures a moment when the San Joaquin Valley’s economy was firmly rooted in the dual engines of large-scale irrigation and oil production.