1983 Map of Half Moon

About this map

Big Lake and its surrounding wetlands dominate this landscape along the Missouri and Arkansas border, where the Big Lake National Wildlife Refuge preserves a complex network of water and terrain including Gun Island and Hog Island. The region is defined by a massive drainage system, with dozens of numbered channels like Ditch No 58 and Ditch No 60 cutting across the flat agricultural lands of Mississippi Co. Small settlements and landmarks are scattered throughout this reclaimed river bottom, from the community at Half Moon to river-access points such as Bo Doc Landing and Barnum Landing. Local history is anchored by the Full Gospel Ch and the Wilkerson Cem near Pemiscot Bayou, illustrating the rural settlement patterns that persisted in this corner of the Bootheel region into the early 1980s.