1947 Map of Dunbar

About this map

Dunbar serves as the primary hub of this Northwoods landscape, where two major rail lines intersect: the Minneapolis St Paul and Sault Ste Marie RR and the Chicago Milwaukee St Paul and Pacific RR. The area is defined by its complex hydrology and dense network of rural schools, suggesting a dispersed but established logging and farming community. Notable landmarks like the Dunbar Fire Tower overlook a terrain dotted with dozens of named water bodies, including Lindquist Lake, Thoeming Lake, and the Twelvefoot Falls along the North Branch Pike River. Small settlements such as Belgian and Merriman are connected by early highway systems, while the presence of numerous neighborhood schools like Summit Sch and Smeester Sch points to a time when local education was decentralized across Marinette and Florence Counties. The map reveals the early 20th-century character of northeastern Wisconsin before modern consolidation changed the rural school and rail landscape.