As this is updated (2021) the technical issues of reproducing large maps for this website have not been resolved. It remains one of the unfinished tasks for the webmasters, among many.

In the meantime, the links tab above may be helpful. In particular, the link labeled Historic Area Maps is very useful and interesting. It links to the website of the Land O'Lakes Historical Museum. Even though the map reproductions center on Land O'Lakes they cover the Star Lake area as well.

The link, "Mercury Map," is a map produced by the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission, showing relative mercury levels in fish in the lakes from which the Ojibwe harvest fish (including Star Lake). See the article, under documents, "GLIFWC's Mercury Maps" for information on how the map was produced.

Vilas County's map site (Vilas County at the Links tab above) has a number of features of interest. Each separate parcel of land can be identified, along with owner and other public record information. The same site has two sets of very good aerial photos of the entire county, one done approximately 2005 and the other in 2010. The 2005 photos seem to be the higher resolution; at least they seem to show more. To get to the aerial photos, choose the "full control option" at the first page.

In the second half of the 20th century Art Dorwin was the leading map maker and seller. He produced a number of Northwoods maps, almost all printed with a border looking like birch bark. These were some of the best maps showing local roads and features of the area. Dorwin died in the late 1990s and his children acquired the copyright to his maps, but they had no interest in running the map stores. The Dorwin Northwoods maps were unavailable. Around 2020-21 Rom Stephens purchased the rights to the Dorwin maps, selling them through his Eagle River store The Hiker Box. The Dorwin Northwoods maps (2 sections of a large area) are reprints of the original maps, without updating. The Hiker Box has an extensive collection of other maps, local and national (appropriate for backpacking use). [This information comes from a conversation with Tom Stephens in 2021.]

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Comprehensive References

Major References

Minor References

• Historic Area Maps
• Land Patent Maps for Vilas County
• Mercury Map
• National Atlas
• Surface Water Data Viewer, DNR
• Wisconin Mapping Bulletin History
• Wisconsin Official Road Maps