Union & Central Pacific Route to Southern California

Cartographer: Passenger Departments of the Union Pacific and Central Pacific Railroads; broadside signed by T. H. Goodman (G.P.& T. Agent, C.P.R.R., San Francisco) and Thos. L. Kimball (G.P.& T. Agent, U.P.R.R., Omaha), printed 1875

Year: 1875

This tall emigrant handbill marries aggressive land promotion with a color map (adapted from the June 1875 “Map of the Southern Pacific Rail Road and Connections”). Bold black and red lines trace the completed Central Pacific and the Southern Pacific’s new Los Angeles–Yuma construction, while lighter links show Union Pacific feeders stretching east from Omaha and Kansas City. Surrounding text shouts “Cheap Farms! Good Markets! Healthy Climate!” and offers settlers low fares, through tickets, and 3,000,000 acres of railroad land at “very low prices.” Crop lists—grain, citrus, raisins, olives—underscore Southern California’s horticultural promise, and mileage notes highlight direct rail communication between San Francisco, Los Angeles, and the Gulf of Mexico. As both map and broadsheet, the piece illustrates how the joined Union and Central Pacific lines marketed their southern extension to populate arid California valleys.