Map of the States of California and Nevada

Cartographer: Compiled by Leander Ransom and A. J. Doolittle; lithographed by Geo. H. Baker, San Francisco, 1867

Year: 1867

Prepared just after the Civil War, this richly hand-colored sheet combines county boundaries, township-and-range grids, and five U.S. Land Districts (I – V) shaded in pastel panels. Blue stippling marks silver-mining districts, while shaded ellipses highlight the principal Sierra passes and desert basins that channel travel between the two states. Railroads in operation or under construction thread the Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys and skirt the Sierra foothills en route to Nevada’s Comstock mines. Dozens of confirmed Mexican ranchos appear as hatched polygons along the coast, contrasting with the un-surveyed public lands of the Mojave and Great Basin. A mileage scale, county seat index, and inset list of private land grants turn the map into a practical reference for land agents, miners, and railroad promoters. Altogether the sheet offers a detailed snapshot of settlement, resources, and survey progress during California and Nevada’s explosive post-Gold-Rush growth.