Loading map...

1946 Map of Boss

Name: 1946 Topographic Map of Boss
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1946
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1946

About this map

Old Mill Lodge and the burgeoning community of Viburnum occupy a rugged landscape of the Ozark Plateau within the Clark National Forest. This 1940s survey reveals a region defined by its dispersed rural institutions, where numerous small schoolhouses like McMurtrey Sch and Hawk Sch serve families living along the deep hollows and ridges of the Black River system. The map documents the early road network, including State Route 32, which connects isolated settlements such as Boss and Bixby.

Strategic vantage points like Czar Lookout and Black Lookout emphasize the heavily forested and high-relief nature of the terrain. Local history is preserved through the naming of family cemeteries like Abbott Cem and Webb Cem, and the presence of natural landmarks such as Elm Spring and Mill Spr. The complex drainage patterns of the West Fork Black River and its tributaries show the fundamental role of water sources in dictating early Missouri settlement patterns.