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1956 Map of Fort Wayne

Name: 1956 Topographic Map of Fort Wayne
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1956
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1956

About this map

Fort Wayne serves as the primary urban anchor of this mid-1950s survey, where the convergence of the St. Marys River and St. Joseph River forms the Maumee River. This tri-state region, spanning northern Indiana, southern Michigan, and northwest Ohio, is defined by an intensive network of transportation. Major rail corridors like the New York Central and Wabash crisscross the landscape, connecting industrial hubs like Elkhart and Adrian to smaller agricultural centers such as Sturgis and Bryan.

The geography transitions from the river-fed plains around New Haven to the dense lake districts of the northwest. Water bodies such as Lake Wawasee, Tippecanoe Lake, and Coldwater Lake stand out as significant landmarks in a terrain largely organized by the township-and-range surveying system. From the Tippecanoe River to the high ground at The Knob, the map details a settled mid-century landscape of county seats and rural crossroads during a period of steady post-war infrastructure growth.