1942 Map of Porterfield

About this map

Peshtigo River winds through this landscape, defining the local geography as it flows toward Green Bay and powers the Potato Rapids Power Dam. The area's mid-century educational landscape is exceptionally dense, featuring nearly thirty rural schools such as Lake Sch, Wilson Sch, and Maple Grove Sch dotting the township sections. These small schoolhouses, alongside community centers like St Joseph Ch and the County Farm, reveal the highly localized social structure of northeastern Wisconsin before the widespread consolidation of the post-war era. Transport and industry are marked by the presence of the Chicago and Northwestern and Wisconsin and Michigan RR, connecting river settlements like Crivitz and Porterfield. From the Boy Scout Camp on the shores of Lake Noquebay to the Peshtigo Fire Tower, the map records a transition from the era of timber and rail to a more settled agricultural and recreational economy.