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1918 Map of Battle Creek

Name: 1918 Topographic Map of Battle Creek
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1942
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1942

About this map

Battle Creek emerges as a dense industrial and transit hub at the confluence of the Kalamazoo River and Battle Creek, serving as a focal point for the Grand Trunk Western RR, Michigan Central RR, and Michigan Elec Ry. This 1917 survey, reprinted during the war years, details a landscape defined by its transition from manufacturing to rural township life. Beyond the city limits, the terrain is dotted with local landmarks like Goguac Lake and St Marys Lake, and bisected by the historic Territorial Road.

Genealogists and local historians will find significant value in the distribution of one-room schoolhouses and rural churches that anchored early 20th-century life in Assyria, Pennfield, and Emmett townships. Notable landmarks include the Base Line Church and Cobblestone School, along with numerous family-named sites such as Moores Corners and Youngs Corners. The survey also documents the industrial layout of small outlying villages like Ceresco and Bellevue before mid-century modernization.