Tag Archives: 1940s

Route 66 Hairpin Curves, Arizona

This picture features a common subject of the west in the early post World War 2 period: pictures of highway construction. Among the favorites were pictures like this, of winding roads that climbed and descended complex mountain and valley routes.
This picture appears to have been taken near the side road that led to the Gold Road mine. The color in the upper center is a printing error for this image.
There is no description on the back of this card, but the image dates from the 1940s.

Gold Road Mining Town, Arizona

This week we visit Gold Road, as it was known, that ran through Arizona in the mid-20th Century.
Gold Road was a ghost town that remained of a gold mining operation in Arizona, whose access road branched off of Route 66, as shown in this picture. It had its own Post office until 1942, and was completely demolished in 1949.
There is no description on the back of this picture. The cars indicate this picture was taken in the 1940s before the town was razed.

Bluff Overlooking Lake of the Clouds, Ontonagon County, Mich.

This image shows the bluff of a large hill from the Lake of the Clouds, a lake in Ontonagon County, Michigan, in the Upper Peninsula.
The description “far end of the lake” implies the bluff is downstream from the inflow to the lake, which is fed and drained by the Carp River.
This card likely dates from the 1940s.

Toonerville Trolley, Newberry, Mich.

This image displays the unique transportation method used in the mid-20th century for tourists to visit the Tahquamenon River area. The name is from a popular cartoon of the early 20th century called Toonerville Folks. The name has been used by other public transport methods elsewhere in the United States.

Toonerrville Trolley, Tahquamenon boat trip Newberry – Mich. L.L. Cook Co. 1941


The casual seating arrangements, particularly evident at the back of the trolley where tourists are seated on the trailing edge of the car, are indicative of a trolley that moves very slowly across flat land. Another image, posted on this site some months ago, shows later development of the cars used for passengers and the type of motive power for the trolley.
This card is dated 1941 on the front.

Tahquamenon River View, Soo Junction, Mich.

This placid photo features a small section of the Tahquamenon River near the village of Soo Junction, Michigan. It is not an incorporated town, only a populated area named by the locals as a convenience. This is in the upper peninsula of Michigan, in Luce County.

The L.L. Cook Co., Milwaukee, WI


The Tahquamenon River flows through the center of the upper peninsula of Michigan on it’s way to the mouth at Lake Superior.
This card is dated on the front 1948.

Tahquamenon Falls, Newberry, Mich.

This is again an image similar to one previously posted some months ago. It is obviously the same location from the prominent ‘bulge’ of water near the center of the falls present in both pictures.

The L.L. Cook Co., Milwaukee, WI


The people shown in the photo at lower left are wearing clothing that indicates this image is from the 1940s. Close examination of the picture reveals another person on a ledge just behind the falls.

Tahquamenon River Tour Boat, Newberry, Mich.

This is another image of a boat featured some months back. This image is closer in and in black and white, but otherwise the images are remarkably similar in that the boat does not appear to have been replaced, and the tourist still occupy the usual locations.

The boat itself is also called the Tahquamenon, as indicated by the name sign visible in the picture.
The brown marking in the upper right is damage from a decomposed rubber band. This image is hard to date, but is likely from the 1940s.
There is no description on the back.

Ann Arbor Railroad Ferry, Frankfort, Michigan

This ship though similar to the previous images, was owned and operated by the Ann Arbor Railroad, used them to transport railroad cars across Lake Huron and Lake St. Clair into Canada.
The signboard next to the bridge indicates it is the Ann Arbor, but the number of the ship is too faint to make out.
This card was used and is dated August 3, 1949.

Ferry Landing, Mackinaw City, Michigan

This image shows the ferry landing at Mackinaw City, MI, emphasizing the line of cars waiting to embark for the trip across the Straits of Mackinac. There was no bridge at the time of this photo, and the famous Big Mac bridge would not be completed for another nine years.

The L.L. Cook Co., Milwaukee, WI


There is no description on the back of this card. The identity of the ship shown is unknown.
This card is dated 1948.