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1957 Map of Spirit Lake

Name: 1957 Topographic Map of Spirit Lake
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1959
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1959

About this map

Spirit Lake serves as the centerpiece of this mid-century landscape within the Gifford Pinchot National Forest, documented several decades before the catastrophic 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens. The area is a dense network of recreational camps and resource extraction, featuring lakeside retreats such as Spirit Lake Lodge, St Helens Lodge, and Harmony Falls Lodge. Youth organizations established a strong presence along the shoreline, including a Girl Scout Camp, Boy Scout Camp, and YMCA Camp.

Industry and transit define the northern and central reaches, where the Cowlitz Chehalis & Cascade Railroad follows the Cowlitz River near the settlement of Kosmos. Higher elevations are marked by a significant mining history, with operations like the Polar Star Mine, Sweden Mine, and Black Prince Mine scattered among peaks such as Mt Margaret and Bismarck Mtn. This survey preserves the geography of a pristine mountain wilderness and its developed infrastructure during the peak of its mid-century recreational use.