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1954 Map of Dowden Creek

Name: 1954 Topographic Map of Dowden Creek
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1981
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1981

About this map

Anacoco sits at the southwestern edge of this 1954 landscape, where the Kansas City Southern railway cuts through the piney woods of Vernon Parish. Much of the central and eastern terrain is dominated by the Fort Polk Military Reservation, including the extensive Peason Ridge Artillery Range. The area is characterized by numerous small drainage branches and creeks, such as West Anacoco Creek and Dowden Creek, which carve through the undulating hills.

Genealogists will find a cluster of rural landmarks, particularly churches that served these isolated communities before the expansion of military training grounds. Features like Prutts Chapel, Union Grove Church, and Cold Spring Church are documented alongside numerous stretches of dismantled railroad, hinting at the transition from a timber-driven rail economy to a large-scale military installation. The map also records the Sabine Parish and Vernon Parish line as it crosses through this wooded interior.