Loading map...

1900 Map of Tacoma

Name: 1900 Topographic Map of Tacoma
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1913
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1913

About this map

Commencement Bay and the growing port of Tacoma anchor this late 19th-century study of the Puget Sound shoreline and the river valleys of the Pierce and King County line. The map highlights a complex hydrographic network where the White River and Stuck River meander toward the sound, a landscape characterized by the Puyallup Indian Reservation and Muckleshoot Indian Reservation.

Railroad development is central to the area's economy, with the Northern Pacific Railway and the Tacoma and Eastern R. R. linking industrial settlements like Carbonado and Wilkeson to the coast. Along the western edge, Vashon Island and Maury Island appear with detailed coastal features such as Quartermaster Harbor and a curious Aquarium near Pt. Beals. This inland empire of timber and coal is punctuated by hundreds of small lakes and the early footprints of towns like Auburn, Kent, and Sumner.