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1965 Map of St. Helen NW

Name: 1965 Topographic Map of St. Helen NW
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1966
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1966

About this map

The South Branch Au Sable River meanders through the heart of the Au Sable State Forest in this mid-1960s study of Roscommon County. The landscape is defined by its transition from managed timberlands to the recreational waters of Lake St Helen and Beaver Lake Flooding. Small settlements like Geels and Keno appear alongside the New York Central railroad, which cuts a sharp diagonal across the marshy terrain.

Evidence of the region's logging history is visible in the numerous segments of Old Railroad Grade that haunt the woods north of South Creek. The map documents the local civic infrastructure of the era, from the centrally located Townhall to the Sherman Bridge crossing. While St Helen serves as the primary hub at the southern edge, the map captures a wilderness being slowly organized for public use at Au Sable River Park.