1908 Map of Coahoma

About this map

The Yazoo and Mississippi Valley R. R. (Riverside Line) anchors the northern edge of this Mississippi Delta landscape, where the shifting hydrology of the Sunflower River has left a complex network of brakes and lakes. This 1908 survey, conducted for the State of Mississippi Tallahatchie Drainage Commission, reveals a plantation-era settlement pattern defined by large named holdings and rail stops. Prominent estates like Elkhorn Place and King & Anderson's sit along the high ground of the Sheriff Ridge Road, a vital overland route through the bottomlands. The map illustrates how local agriculture relied on the strategic placement of landings and rail sidings at Coahoma and Cloverhill, as well as the intricate drainage provided by Mill Creek and Barklay Bayou long before the modern channelization of the Delta's waterways.