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1959 Map of Lake

Name: 1959 Topographic Map of Lake
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1960
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1960

About this map

Sears and Gibos Corners anchor the rural landscape of this late 1950s survey, a period when the timberlands and headwaters of Central Michigan were interspersed with active oil production. The Chippewa River and the Muskegon River meander through the Houghton Lake State Forest and Sylvan State Forest, while the Chesapeake and Ohio railroad serves as the primary industrial artery for the region.

Genealogical and local history details are abundant, with several rural schoolhouses like Ogilvie Sch and Martin Sch alongside the County Home near Sylvan Cem. The map reveals a land defined by its many water bodies, from Big Cranberry Lake to The Bayou, and shows the footprint of the petroleum industry with numerous Oil Fields and Oil Wells scattered across the northern sections near Little Norway Lake.