1957 Map of Cadillac South

About this map

William Mitchell State Park anchors the northwestern corner of this landscape, separating the waters of Lake Mitchell and Cadillac Lake. In the late 1950s, this region of Michigan was characterized by a dense network of country schools and rural cemeteries, many of which are marked as abandoned on this sheet. The legacy of early 20th-century settlement is visible in the placement of the Pennsylvania and Ann Arbor railroads, which facilitated movement through the heavy timberlands of the Fife Lake State Forest and Houghton Lake State Forest. Local industry is evidenced by the Mineral Springs Oil Field and numerous gravel pits near Tustin and Le Roy. The presence of several defunct institutions, such as the Sherman Sch and Rose Lake Sch, indicates a shifting demographic pattern as small agricultural communities and rural school districts consolidated or faded during the mid-century era.