1976 Map of Onekama NW

About this map

The shoreline of Lake Michigan and the expansive waters of Bear Lake anchor this 1976 orthophotoquad of Manistee County. Unlike traditional line-drawn maps, this aerial imagery provides a direct photographic view of the landscape's transformation during the mid-1970s. The village of Arcadia is visible near the northern coast, while the settlement of Pierport sits further south along the lakefront. Inland, the community of Bear Lake borders its namesake water body, surrounded by a distinct patchwork of agricultural fields and woodlots. Smaller locales like Malcolm are captured within the rural grid, illustrating the distribution of farmsteads and rural development that characterizes this fruit-growing region of Western Michigan. The imagery reveals the intricate road networks and property lines that defined the area's social and economic geography just before the modern era of expansion.