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1908 Map of Sumas

Name: 1908 Topographic Map of Sumas
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1908
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1908

About this map

The Nooksak River and its broad agricultural floodplains dominate this 1906 survey of northern Whatcom County, capturing a landscape where rail lines and timber were driving rapid settlement. Small hubs like Lynden, Everson, and Sumas are clearly defined, while smaller outposts like Lamberton and Strandell illustrate the density of early 20th-century rural communities. Near the northern boundary, tramways suggest local industrial activity connecting back to the United States Canada Boundary Line.

In the southern reaches, the map transitions into more varied terrain around Squalicum Mtn and Whatcom Lake. Here, Larsens Mill and the lakeside community of Silver Beach mark the northern periphery of Bellingham. Several railway branches, including the Bellingham Bay and British Columbia R R and the Northern Pacific R R (Sumas Line), weave through the valley, tracing the infrastructure that linked these river towns to the ports on Bellingham Bay.