Introduction

This map is a 1880s vintage map of Lincoln County, at a time when it extended to the Michigan border and included Lac du Flambeau. The original is archived at the Wisconsin Historical Society Library in Madison, and the Tomahawk Area Historical Society has obtained a digital scan of the map which includes permission to display a copy.

The library catalog lists the map as drawn in 1881, but this is likely an error as the map falls within boundaries known to exist from 1883 to 1885.

The map is drawn by Sturdevant and Chandler, Civil Engineers. Much of the basic data comes from the original government survey (plat) maps, and includes some of the mistakes those surveyors meant (such as mis-naming Skanawan Lake — more on this later). On top of this basic cartographic background, known roads and development sites were added, along with a number of proposed new features.

Although not identified specifically on the map, the named proprietors of the civil engineering firm were probably George R. Sturdevant and Henry H. Chandler. Sturdevant held the title of Lincoln County Surveyor in the early 1880s. Chandler was identified in the 1881 History of Northern Wisconsin as a merchant, but his biography in that book describes his rise in the ranks of the army engineers in the Civil War, so he possessed the engineering skills, and as many merchants did he also engaged in lumbering.