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1915 Map of Westley

Name: 1915 Topographic Map of Westley
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1915
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1915

About this map

The confluence of the San Joaquin River and the Tuolumne River dominates this landscape, showing a complex network of active sloughs and oxbow lakes before modern river engineering. The map reveals the early 20th-century development of the Central Valley, where the rail-and-water economy is in full view. The Southern Pacific (San Francisco and New Orleans Line) cuts a straight path across the alluvial plain, anchoring the settlement at Westley.

Evidence of early large-scale land grants remains visible in the boundaries of El Pescadero and Rancho Del Puerto. Near the riverbanks, smaller communities like Grayson and Tuolumne City appear alongside agricultural infrastructure such as the Vanormer Pumping Sta. The presence of Grider Island and various cutoffs like the Finigan Cutoff illustrates the shifting nature of the river channels in an era when seasonal flooding still shaped the local topography.