1946 Map of Marcellus

About this map

Paw Paw and Marcellus anchor this mid-century survey of the southwestern Michigan landscape, where the glacial influence is evident in a dense concentration of kettle lakes and drain systems. The region is heavily marked by rural infrastructure, featuring a significant network of one-room schoolhouses like Porter Center Sch and Huycktown Sch, alongside small country congregations at Wayne Chapel and Harmony Chapel. The transport corridor of the New York Central railroad bisects the terrain, connecting Decatur with the wider region while bypassing smaller settlements such as Nicholsville and Volinia. The intricate network of artificial channels, including Buckley Drain and Gates Drain, highlights a legacy of land management for agriculture in the marshy areas between Gravel Lake and Saddlebag Lake. For genealogists, the presence of numerous family-named burial grounds like Chamberlain Cem and Harwick Cem offers precise locations for ancestral research in Cass and Van Buren counties.