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1972 Map of Sumpter

Name: 1972 Topographic Map of Sumpter
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1985
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1985

About this map

Sumpter sits at the heart of a landscape fundamentally altered by industrial extraction, evidenced by the massive Dredge Tailings that dominate the Powder River floor. These mounds of gravel, stretching through the Sumpter Valley and into McEwen Valley, reveal the scale of the gold dredging operations that once defined the local economy. The legacy of this period is further marked by the Old Railroad Grade and various ruins scattered near the McCully Fork.

High-altitude water management is visible through features like the Hawley Ditch and numerous named springs, such as Antelope Spring and Powerline Spring, which sustained operations in the Whitman National Forest. For genealogists and local historians, the Blue Mtn Cem and the additional Cemetery near the town site provide critical links to the families who lived and worked in this drainage beneath Huckleberry Mountain.