1885 Map of Tooele Valley

About this map

Tooele and its surrounding mountain ranges dominate this late 19th-century reconnaissance, which captures the industrial and agricultural expansion across north-central Utah. The map reveals a landscape defined by sharp elevation changes, where the Oquirrh Mountains and Stansbury Mountains separate high-desert basins like Skull Valley and Rush Valley. Mining interest is evident in the cluster of settlements along the eastern slopes, including Bingham and Ophir, while the northern portion of the sheet is anchored by the southern reaches of the Great Salt Lake. Transportation of the era is represented by the Utah and Nevada R. R., which links Lake Point to Stockton. Smaller outposts such as Fausts and Vernon mark the southern interior, illustrating the sparse but deliberate settlement patterns characteristic of the Great Basin prior to modern development.