1950 Map of Elcho

About this map

Pelican Lake serves as a northern anchor for this 1950s landscape, where the waters of Guths Bay and Antigo I meet a dense network of timberlands and seasonal retreats. The Chicago and North Western railway provides the primary structural axis, connecting the village of Elcho and the high-elevation settlement of Summit Lake with regional markets. This era shows a transition from a purely extractive economy to one defined by early tourism and managed forestry, evidenced by the Summit Lake Ranger Station and the Pence Lake Lookout Tower overlooking the massive Wolf River and Hunting River basins. Community life is centered around small rural institutions like St Johns Ch and schools including Little Chicago Sch and Forest Sch, while the presence of several old railroad grades hints at the logging spurs that once reached deeper into the surrounding swamps.