1929 Map of Stone

About this map

Agricultural development in the southern San Joaquin Valley is defined by two major rail corridors that bisect this landscape. The Southern Pacific line runs nearly due north through Stone and the northern edge of Delano, while the Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe angles across the western plains near Kernell. This 1920s topography highlights the transition between Tulare and Kern counties along the Tulare Co Kern Co Boundary Line, where the land is scored by early irrigation canals and drainage ditches. The presence of the American Gun Club suggests a landscape where recreational hunting coexisted with the expanding citrus and grape fields of the region. This survey captures the precise grid of section lines and early surveyed roads that would eventually facilitate the massive industrial farming growth of the twentieth century.