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1955 Map of Champion

Name: 1955 Topographic Map of Champion
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1974
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1974

About this map

Michigan State Forest land and complex iron and gold mining districts define this mid-1950s landscape in the Upper Peninsula. The southern portion of the map is dominated by the rail-and-industry corridor of the Duluth South Shore and Atlantic and the Chicago and North Western railroads, which served mining hubs like Champion, Diorite, and Beacon. Local history is deeply etched into the terrain through specific workings such as the Michigan Gold Mine, Chase Mine, and the Barnes and Hecker Mine.

To the north, the geography shifts toward the hydrological network of the Yellow Dog River and the Yellow Dog Plains. Significant water features include the Silver Lake Basin with its spillway and the remote Mulligan Swamp. The presence of the Silver Lead Mine near Silver Lead Mine Lake and the Pinnacle Falls on the Yellow Dog River highlight the era's reliance on both extracted wealth and the region's natural river systems.