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1940 Map of Gainesville

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

USGS Topo · Published 1940

About this map

Gainesville serves as the focal point of this Ozark County landscape, where the topography is defined by an intricate network of ridges and deep hollows. The river system of Bryant Creek and the North Fork Bryant Creek dominates the eastern half of the map, featuring numerous river crossings such as Osborn Ford and Poe Ford that were vital for local travel before modern bridging.

Rural life in the 1930s is evidenced by a high density of country schools and churches, including Eveningshade Sch and Smith Chapel. The map reveals a reliance on water and high-ground navigation, seen in the many named knobs like Timber Knob and Ludecker Bald. Down on the Arkansas border, White Ferry provides a crossing on the North Fork, while the interior is crisscrossed by old routes like the Mailroute, reflecting the era's difficult overland communication.