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1943 Map of Kalamazoo

Name: 1943 Topographic Map of Kalamazoo
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1943
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1943

About this map

Kalamazoo anchors the southern portion of this region, displaying a dense urban grid and industrial corridor along the Kalamazoo River during the early 1940s. The city is a hub of institutional and transportation activity, featuring the State Hospital and Nazareth Academy, alongside a complex intersection of rail lines including the Michigan Central and the Grand Rapids and Indiana. Northward, the landscape transitions into a series of smaller industrial and agricultural settlements like Otsego and Plainwell, where the river's power is harnessed by the Otsego Dam.

Rural life is meticulously documented through a high density of country schoolhouses, such as Grand Prairie Sch and Chamberlin Sch, and named crossroads like Jug Corners and Daugherty Corners. The northern half of the sheet is defined by the Gun River and numerous glacial basins, including Pine Lake and Warner Lake, illustrating the post-glacial topography that shaped the settlement patterns of Allegan and Kalamazoo counties.