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1948 Map of Hancock

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

USGS Topo · Published 1948

About this map

The industrial and maritime heritage of the Keweenaw Peninsula is evident in this mid-century survey of the terrain between Lake Superior and Portage Lake. Copper mining operations dominate the southern portion of the sheet, centered around the Franklin Mine and the settlement at Pewabic. The town of Hancock serves as the regional hub, situated on the slopes above the water with institutional anchors like Suomi College and St Joseph Cem.

Evidence of Finnish-American settlement is visible in the smaller outlying communities such as Paavola and the naming of the Salo Sch. The landscape is a complex network of transportation routes, including the Copper Range and the South Shore And Duluth railroads, which once moved mineral wealth toward the Portage Lake Ship Canal. To the north, the transition from industrial activity to lakefront recreation is marked by McLAIN STATE PARK and Bear Lake, while numerous small drainages like Sevenmile Creek and Muggun Creek cut through the timbered uplands of Osceola township.