1939 Map of Greenville

About this map

The St Francois River winds through the heart of Wayne County in this mid-1930s survey, serving as the primary geographic anchor for the county seat at Greenville. The landscape is defined by a dense network of hollows and creeks, such as McCarn Hollow and Bear Creek, where small agricultural and timber-related settlements like Silva, Hiram, and Burbank established themselves. This era represents a period of significant public works and rural development, evidenced by the presence of a CCC Camp and a prolific number of neighborhood schools like Oak Grove Sch and Turkey Cr Sch. The distribution of these schools and churches, including Reed Chapel and Wesley Chapel, reflects a decentralized community structure where local life centered around small creek-side hollows before the modernization of the Ozark region.