1963 Map of Barnes Lake

About this map

Barnes Lake and the surrounding wetlands of the Lapeer State Game Area dominate this central Michigan landscape in the early 1960s. The region is defined by its complex hydrology, where the North Branch Flint River and South Branch Flint River converge amidst a dense network of glacial lakes including Millers Lake, Norway Lake, and Dipper Lake. The map reveals a deeply established rural community, evidenced by several small country congregations like West Deerfield Ch, East Deerfield Ch, and the Deerfield Church of Christ. Education for these outlying farming districts was still anchored by localized schoolhouses such as Sweet Sch and Mills Sch. The prevalence of named drains, including the Fostoria Drain and Kester Drain, indicates an era of active agricultural land management, while the presence of an Oil Well and a Gravel Pit points to the local extraction economy found on the border of Tuscola and Lapeer counties.