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1948 Map of Fort Wilkins

Name: 1948 Topographic Map of Fort Wilkins
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1976
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1976

About this map

Copper Harbor serves as the focal point for this survey of Michigan's northernmost tip, where the rugged terrain of the Keweenaw Peninsula meets Lake Superior. The landscape is dominated by the historic military and maritime infrastructure that defined the region's 19th-century development, including the Copper Harbor Lighthouse and the grounds of Fort Wilkins State Park. The map reveals a transition from these early settlements to the interior's industrial past, notably at the Copper Mine (Abandoned) located south of the harbor.

Tracing the inland hydrology, the sheet shows numerous interconnected water bodies such as Lake Fanny Hooe, Mud Lake, and the winding path of the Montreal River. High elevations like East Bluff overlook the coastline, while the eastern reaches remain largely undeveloped, marked only by the Telephone Line and remote features such as Keystone Point and Bay Lake. The detail provided reflects both the mid-century topography and revisions from the 1970s, documenting a landscape shaped by copper extraction and the eventual preservation of its military history at Old Fort Wilkins.