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1932 Map of Skeels Lake SE

Name: 1932 Topographic Map of Skeels Lake SE
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1932
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1932

About this map

The northern wilderness of the Hiawatha National Forest dominates this 1930s landscape, characterized by an intricate network of glacial lakes and logging-era infrastructure. The presence of several numbered camps, including Camp No 17 Lake, Camp No 41 Lake, and Camp No 7 Lake, suggests a period when resource extraction and forest management were the primary drivers of human activity in this corner of Delta County.

A complex hydraulic system defines the area, with the Northeast Branch Fishdam River and Eighteen Mile Cr draining a terrain dotted with named water bodies such as Chicago Lake, Gooseneck Lake, and Mud Lake. This survey, compiled from early Air Corps aerial photography, captures the primitive road network and dense woods of the Upper Peninsula just as the National Forest was being developed during the New Deal era.