Clement Humphreys

Clement Humphreys served as County Surveyor of San Francisco County in the early 1850s, a period of rapid and consequential geographic change as the city strained against its original boundaries and the county’s relationship to the growing metropolis was actively being defined. His primary contribution to the second map in this volume was the compilation of available surveys of the northern portion of the county; the actual drafting and lithographic execution of the map was undertaken by Alexander Zakreski. The Board of Supervisors’ decision to rush the manuscript original to press for inclusion in the Manual reflects the political urgency attached to establishing a clear geographic record of the city’s expanding ambitions.