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1918 Map of Union City

Name: 1918 Topographic Map of Union City
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1918
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1918

About this map

Union City and the surrounding river valleys of south-central Michigan are documented here just as the United States entered the first World War. The confluence of the St. Joseph River and various tributaries like Nottawa Creek and Hog Creek drives the settlement pattern, with the Michigan Central railroad corridor linking Burlington and Athens to the regional economy. This 1917 survey reveals a landscape densely populated by one-room schoolhouses and rural civic centers, such as the Francisco School and the Town Hall in Newton.

A small Sawmill in the north and the cluster of activity around Burlington Sta illustrate a local economy still closely tied to timber and rail transport. The map provides excellent detail for genealogists tracing ancestors in Branch and Calhoun counties, showing named landmarks like Riley Bridge and the German Lutheran Church that served these farming communities before the modern consolidation of rural infrastructure.