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1954 Map of Harrington Lake

Name: 1954 Topographic Map of Harrington Lake
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1956
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1956

About this map

Appalachian Trail hikers in the mid-1950s navigated this remote stretch of the North Woods, winding past Rainbow Lake and Rainbow Mountain. The landscape is dominated by the intricate waterways of the West Branch Penobscot River, where industrial engineering met the wilderness at the Ripogenus Dam and Chesuncook Dam. This survey captures the region as it functioned for both forestry and early conservation, with a Forest Service Camp and a Ranger Station positioned to monitor the vast timberlands.

The Baxter State Park Boundary marks the eastern edge of this terrain, containing iconic peaks like Doubletop Mountain and South Brother. Local history is embedded in the names of the numerous "ponds"—from Little Female Pond to the numbered series of Eighth Debsconeag Pond through First Debsconeag Lake. This period shows a backcountry relying on a network of private roads and trails before more modern access developed, centering on the hydropower and logging infrastructure at Ripogenus Lake and Chesuncook Lake.