Loading map...

1958 Map of Cokato

Name: 1958 Topographic Map of Cokato
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1959
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1959

About this map

Cokato and Howard Lake anchor this 1950s landscape of the central Minnesota lake country, where established townships like Stockholm and Middleville reveal a dense network of ethnic and community foundations. The map is a remarkable record of rural social centers, documenting dozens of localized institutions such as the Finnish Ch, Norwegian Ch, and the St Ignatius Cem. This era shows the region's educational infrastructure still largely intact at the township level, with schools like Happy Corner Sch and Lee Sch serving dispersed farmsteads.

Industrial activity is defined by the Great Northern and the Minneapolis St Paul and Sault Ste Marie railroads, which facilitated the growth of lakeside hubs. The terrain is dominated by a complex glacial hydrology, from the large waters of Lake Francis and Lake Sylvia to smaller basins like Slough Lake and Dans Lake. Countless Gravel Pits dot the countryside, signaling the local extraction and road-building efforts of the mid-century.