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1917 Map of Pelican Rapids

Name: 1917 Topographic Map of Pelican Rapids
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1949
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1949

About this map

Pelican Rapids serves as the focal point for this survey of the lake-studded borderlands of Otter Tail, Clay, and Becker counties. The Northern Pacific railroad cuts a north-south line through the glacial terrain, connecting the village to the surrounding farmsteads and schools that defined early 20th-century life. The landscape is dominated by massive water bodies including Pelican Lake, Lake Lizzie, and Prairie Lake, which were already becoming centers for seasonal recreation as evidenced by Dunns Resort.

Genealogists will find a high density of rural institutions, from the Swede Grove Church in the south to a network of nearly two dozen numbered school districts, such as School No 156 N and School No 79. Small settlements like Rollag and Cormorant appear as they existed before modern highway expansion, while several family-named landmarks and cemeteries, including Bangor Cemetery and Lakeview Cemetery, anchor the historical rural community.