1948 Map of Gorham

About this map

The Big Muddy River winds in dramatic loops through the center of this 1940s landscape, defining the transition from the high ridges of the Shawnee National Forest to the low Oakwood Bottoms. The river's serpentine path is marked by distinctive named bends such as Horseshoe Bend, Mill Bend, and Rawlins Bend, illustrating a classic Mississippi River tributary system before modern channelization altered local drainages. To the west, the prominent mass of Fountain Bluff rises sharply from the floodplain, hosting the Fountain Bluff Lookout Tower and serving as a landmark for the Missouri Pacific and Illinois Central railroads that converge near Gorham. Genealogists will find notable value in the specific locations of rural burial grounds like Goodbread Cem and Hudson Cem, alongside vanished community anchors such as the Hickory Ridge School and the riverfront Rattlesnake Ferry crossing.