1955 Map of Ralph

About this map

Ralph and the southern edge of the Escanaba River State Forest define this mid-century landscape on the border of Marquette and Dickinson counties. The Escanaba and Lake Superior railroad follows the path of the West Branch Escanaba River, illustrating the vital connection between timber extraction and transportation in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Settlement is concentrated around the small village of Ralph, where the Ralph Cem and Ralph Landing Field serve as local landmarks. Further south, the terrain transitions into the rugged drainage basins of the North Branch Sturgeon River and East Branch Sturgeon River. For genealogists and historians, the map preserves the location of smaller locales like Theodore near Felch Mountain and numerous named water bodies like O'Neil Lake, Sixmile Lake, and Norway Lake that shaped the region's early logging and sporting life.