1966 Map of Big Flat

About this map

The Buffalo River carves a deep, winding path through this portion of the Arkansas Ozarks, defining the topography near the border of Marion and Baxter counties. In the mid-1960s, the small community of Big Flat serves as the primary settlement, anchored by a Cem and connected to the surrounding highlands via a network of unimproved roads and jeep trails like Rose Road and Farris Road. Much of the terrain is protected within the Ozark National Forest, where the landscape is marked by distinctive elevations such as Suggs Mountain, Almus Knob, and Tater Hill. The map reveals a drainage system defined by numerous hollows, including Barkshed Hollow and Woods Hollow, which feed into the main river system. This survey illustrates the era's balance between scattered rural homesteads and the vast, forested public lands that dominate the region.