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1952 Map of Riley

Name: 1952 Topographic Map of Riley
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1954
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1954

About this map

Riley and the surrounding timberlands of St. Louis County appear here during a period of industrial activity in the early 1950s. The landscape is defined by the intersection of the Great Northern and the Duluth Missabe and Iron Range railroads, which served the region's extractive industries and connected local settlements to the broader Iron Range economy. Evidence of this activity is visible through numerous Gravel Pits and a Pumping Station located near the tracks.

Local civic life is centered on the Town Hall and Maple Hill Sch in the northern section of the map, while the southern reaches are dominated by the Floodwood Memorial Forest. The West Swan River meanders through the forest floor, providing a natural drainage system for the marshy terrain near Harriet Lake. This survey captures the rural infrastructure of Northern Minnesota before modern highway expansions altered the traditional rail-and-river transport patterns.