1964 Map of De Soto

About this map

The Chickasawhay River dominates this mid-century landscape, carving a serpentine path through Clarke County. The river's natural hydrology is documented through features like the McCormick Cutoff, Johnson Cutoff, and the pronounced Martincere Bend. Settlement patterns are concentrated along the Gulf Mobile and Ohio railroad corridor, which links the community of De Soto in the north to the northern edge of the Shubuta corporate boundary in the south. Local history is deeply etched into the topography through numerous rural institutions, including Covington Cem, St Johns Ch, and Brown Chapel. The map also reveals the area's geological and economic character, noting industrial Claypits and distinctive terrain like Sels Prairie. This survey provides a look at the rural South's network of country churches, family cemeteries, and river-dependent geography.