1970 Map of Bancroft

About this map

Bancroft and West Bancroft serve as the primary nodes of settlement in this central Wisconsin landscape, situated along the Chicago and North Western railroad line. The terrain is defined by the flat, marshy reaches of Buena Vista and Pine Grove, where a complex network of drainage ditches and canals regulates the flow of Duck Creek and the bifurcated North Branch and South Branch Tenmile Creek. These engineering efforts transformed the wetland character of the region into productive land, a transition visible in the orderly grid of local routes like Lake Road and Mill Road. Prominent natural landmarks rise above the plain, including Mosquito Bluff and the geological formation known as The Ledge. Genealogists will find the Pine Grove Cem and smaller hamlets like Coddington noted, documenting the community footprint in Portage County during the early 1970s.