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1913 Map of Wendell

Name: 1913 Topographic Map of Wendell
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1913
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1913

About this map

The Otter Tail River snakes through the northern portion of this landscape, its path marked by the early industrial presence of Dayton Dam. The terrain is characterized by a dense network of one-room schoolhouses, such as School No 261 and School No 197, which reveal the distributed nature of early 20th-century rural settlement. This survey captures a transitional moment for Grant and Otter Tail counties, where the newly established rail corridor of the Minneapolis St Paul and Sault Ste Marie crosses the prairie, connecting the village of Wendell to the broader regional economy.

Water dominates the landscape south of the river, with a complex system of glacial basins including Upper Lightning Lake, Stony Lake, and Elbow Lake. Small agricultural hubs like Western and Hereford are positioned near these water bodies and rail lines, illustrating how the presence of the Great Northern R R and the Mustinka River drainage system influenced the placement of early townships like Stony Brook and Lawrence.