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1963 Map of Mooseleuk Lake

Name: 1963 Topographic Map of Mooseleuk Lake
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1965
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1965

About this map

Mooseleuk Lake serves as a central anchor for this remote section of the Maine North Woods, where the borders of Aroostook and Piscataquis counties meet. The landscape is defined by its complex network of waterways, including the Machias River and Big Machias Lake, which historically facilitated the region's timber operations. Private tote roads and logging tracks thread between prominent heights such as Bartlett Mountain and Peaked Mountain, connecting isolated outposts like Shaw Camp and various State Forest Service Camps.

The mapping reveals the strategic importance of high-altitude surveillance in the mid-20th century, notably with the Horseshoe Mtn and Round Mtn Lookout Towers. These peaks, along with the Rocky Brook Mountains and Mule Brook Mountains, overlook a terrain of ponds and deadwaters, including McNally Deadwater and Pratt Lake, illustrating a drainage pattern that feeds the distant St. John River watershed. This survey captures a moment when the timberlands remained largely inaccessible to the general public, maintained by private interests and conservation agencies.