1953 Map of Hurricane

About this map

Civil War Trenches preserved on the high ground east of the river system highlight the strategic military importance of this Baldwin County landscape during the mid-19th century. This 1953 survey, with updates from late 1960s aerial photography, reveals a complex aquatic environment where the Mobile River, Tensaw River, and Raft River diverge into a labyrinth of bayous and islands. The community of Hurricane sits near the tracks of the Nashville and Louisville railroad, which cuts across the marshland toward Ortiz Siding. Inland, the map documents a network of rural institutions, including Magnolia Church, St Johns Church, and the Blakeley School. Several family cemeteries like Miller Cem and Wilkins Cem are recorded near Whitehouse Creek, providing valuable touchpoints for genealogists tracing the early residents of this river-centered economy.