1932 Map of Bossier NW

About this map

The parish seat of Benton serves as the focal point for this survey, situated at the intersection of State Highway No 10 and the St Louis Southwestern railroad. The landscape is defined by the complex hydrology of Bossier Parish, where the Red River and Cat Island Lake meet a network of bayous, including Black Bayou and Cypress Bayou. Significant engineering of the era is evident in the Flat River Drainage Canal and the diagonal path of the Magnolia Gas Company Pipe Line. Social life in the early 1930s centered on rural institutions such as New Zion Ch, Elizabeth Ch, and Pleasant Hill Sch. This sheet, compiled from early aerial photographs, documents a transition from traditional river-and-rail commerce to the growing infrastructure of the regional oil and gas industry, marked by an Oil Pump Sta north of town.