California Map of The Golden States Railroads and Cities and Counties, 1888

Details

Description

Antique Map of California – Railroads, Cities & Counties, 1888 This antique engraved map shows California in 1888, at a … Read more Antique Map of California – Railroads, Cities & Counties, 1888 This antique engraved map shows California in 1888, at a time of enormous growth and transformation. Published by Rand, McNally & Co. in Chicago for their Improved Indexed Business Atlas and Shippers Guide, the map details the entire state with its expanding railroad network, counties, towns, and natural geography, just four decades after California became a U.S. state in 1850. The railroads, carefully marked in red and blue, dominate the map. Major routes include the Southern Pacific system running north-south through the Central Valley, linking Sacramento, Fresno, and Los Angeles, and the transcontinental connection across the Sierra Nevada toward Nevada and the Union Pacific. The prominence of railroads reflects their crucial role in integrating California’s economy with the rest of the United States, enabling the export of agricultural produce, gold, silver, and later oil. Key cities are clearly labeled, including San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Sacramento (the state capital), and Oakland, along with numerous smaller towns that were just beginning to grow, such as Riverside, Pasadena, and Santa Barbara. The map also shows mining towns of the Sierra Nevada foothills, remnants of the California Gold Rush that had reshaped the state’s history just a few decades earlier. County boundaries are distinctly drawn, including early administrative divisions such as San Bernardino, Kern, Sonoma, Monterey, and Humboldt. Natural features such as the Sierra Nevada range, Yosemite Valley, Lake Tahoe, and the Pacific coastline are depicted in detail. Offshore, the Channel Islands appear, while the contours of San Francisco Bay are precisely engraved, highlighting its importance as a hub of shipping and trade. See less