1974 Map of Zumbro Falls

About this map

Zumbro River loops through the heart of this landscape, its sharp meanders defining the topography as it flows toward Zumbro Falls. The river's path is shadowed by the remnants of the Old Railroad Grade, a corridor that once tied these blufflands to the regional economy. Much of the terrain is managed within the Minnesota Memorial Hardwood State Forest, though the presence of numerous family and township burial grounds, such as Black Cem, English Cem, and Bear Valley Cem, speaks to a legacy of multi-generational farming. Small settlements like Oak Center and Mazeppa anchor the agricultural uplands. Beyond the river, the landscape is marked by natural features like Cold Brook Spring and Buckman Coulee, alongside several quarries and gravel pits that suggest the local industries of the mid-1970s.