1955 Map of Ralph NW

About this map

The Sturgeon River State Forest and Michigan State Forest dominate this Upper Peninsula landscape, where the boundary between Marquette Co and Dickinson Co cuts across a complex network of waterways. This 1955 survey reveals a mid-century wilderness primarily managed for timber and conservation, centered on the drainage basins of the Ford River and its North Branch. The southern portion of the map is defined by the industrial corridor of the Escanaba and Lake Superior railroad, which follows the river's path to support regional resource extraction. A notable hydrological detail is Tacomaite, appearing alongside numerous named tributaries like Schwartz Creek, Twomile Creek, and McGregor Creek. The map documents a sparsely settled region of Michigan where the geography is defined almost entirely by forest management boundaries and the legacy of the rail-and-river economy.