1963 Map of Big Black

About this map

The Big Black River meanders sharply through the bottomlands of the Warren and Claiborne county line, shaping a landscape defined by oxbow lakes and seasonal wetlands. This 1963 survey shows the intricate drainage network where the river creates Regan Island and leaves behind bodies of water like Horseshoe Lake, Congo Lake, and Baker Lake. Along the higher ground, a network of rural churches including Antioch Ch and Goodrum Ch served the local community, while the Old Indian Treaty Boundary remains a surveyed line across the terrain near the Natchez Trace Parkway. The presence of numerous Gravel Pits along the river bluffs near Hamer Bayou points to the local extractive industry of the mid-20th century, providing a detailed look at the rural infrastructure of central Mississippi before modern development changed these river crossings.