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1932 Map of Wabasha

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

USGS Topo · Published 1932

About this map

The expansive Lake Pepin dominates the western portion of this landscape, where the Mississippi River widens along the border between Minnesota and Wisconsin. In the early 1930s, this area supported a network of riverbank settlements including Stockholm, Lakeport, and Pepin, all linked by the Chicago Burlington and Quincy railroad line. The eastern terrain shifts toward the braided wetlands of the Chippewa River delta, a complex maze of waterways such as Wancoutah Slough and Battle Slough near the junction at Trevino.

Rural life in the coulee country is evidenced by family-named schoolhouses like Hicks Valley Sch and Bogus Cr Sch, which served the scattered agricultural communities tucked into the hills and prairies. The map details the intricate hydrography of the river bottoms, including named ponds like Goose Pond and numerous backwater sloughs that defined the local navigation and fishing economy before the modern lock and dam system was fully established.