1918 Map of Jelle

About this map

The Red Lake Indian Reservation dominates the southern half of this landscape, characterized by extensive wetlands and isolated stands of timbered ground. North of the Diminished Red Lake Indian Reservation Boundary, the terrain shifts toward early 20th-century drainage engineering and agricultural settlement. The map reveals an intricate network of waterways such as Main Judicial Ditch No 34 and Judicial Ditch No 12, which were critical to reclaiming the marshlands of Hamre and Steenerson for farming. Small rural hubs like Jelle and Thorhult serve as the primary coordinates for local history, with a solitary school near the State Road marking the community's social center. The detailed recording of Swamp Limits Original provides a rare look at the primary hydrology of Northern Minnesota before large-scale land modification projects fully redefined the watershed.