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1940 Map of Brinkley

Name: 1940 Topographic Map of Brinkley
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1946
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1946

About this map

Brinkley serves as the central hub for four major rail lines during this pre-war era, where the Chicago Rock Island and Pacific RR and St Louis Southwestern RR intersect. The surrounding Delta landscape is a dense network of agricultural settlements and plantation lands, most notably the Bemis Plantation near Walnut Lake. The terrain is defined by its drainage, with Bayou De View, Big Creek, and the East Fork of the Little River dictating the placement of early roads and small communities.

Rural life in the 1930s is mapped through its communal anchors, from the Lennon High School to integrated church-school-cemetery sites like Garret Grove Ch Sch & Cem. Significant water management features like Piney Ditch and Cypress Ridge Ditch reflect the ongoing efforts to reclaim fertile bottomlands for farming. Smaller sidings and stops including Wheatley, Fargo, and Goodwin illustrate the rail-dependent economy of Monroe and St. Francis Counties.