1981 Map of Gobles East

About this map

The Wolf Lake State Fish Hatchery and Almena Ponds State Fish Hatchery stand out as significant conservation landmarks within this pocket of the Michigan landscape. This early 1980s documentation of the Van Buren Co and Kalamazoo Co line captures a rural economy defined by water and aviation. In the northwest, the village of Gobles sits near a dense cluster of water bodies including Muskrat Lake and Brandywine Lake, while further south, the Paw Paw River and its North Branch wind through the countryside near Almena. Evidence of historical infrastructure appears in the Railroad Grade passing through Kendall and Mentha. Local history researchers will find several small airfields, such as the Widner Landing Strip and the curiously named Secret-Airdrome, alongside numerous gravel pits that speak to the region's geological and industrial character.