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1957 Map of Traverse City

Name: 1957 Topographic Map of Traverse City
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1958
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1958

About this map

Old Mission Peninsula divides the deep waters of the West Arm Grand Traverse Bay and the East Arm Grand Traverse Bay, anchoring a landscape defined by fruit orchards and waterfront settlements. In the late 1950s, Traverse City serves as the regional hub, its street grid detailed from Front St to 11th St, featuring landmarks like the Fairground, Airport, and the early campus of Northwestern Michigan College.

Along the western shore, the Chesapeake and Ohio railroad links coastal points such as Suttons Bay and Greilickville, while the interior of the Leelanau Peninsula reveals a rural network of schoolhouses and cemeteries. Genealogists can locate family sites including the Helmforth and Maple Grove cemeteries, or identify former education centers like the Lautner Sch and Stricker Sch. From the resort grounds at Fountain Point on Lake Leelanau to the Drive-in Theater in Acme, the map documents a mid-century period of transition between traditional lakeside agriculture and growing recreational tourism.