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1941 Map of Manila

Name: 1941 Topographic Map of Manila
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1945
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1945

About this map

Big Lake Reservation and the sprawling wetland network of the Little River dominate this 1941 landscape, reflecting a massive drainage effort in the Arkansas-Missouri borderlands. The terrain is crisscrossed by an extensive system of man-made waterways, including Ditch No 10 and Ditch No 20, which transformed this Mississippi County region into productive agricultural land. Large-scale farming is evidenced by the McFerrin Plantation, Brinkley Plantation, and Simmons Plantation.

Settlement patterns follow the rail lines, with Manila and Dell serving as primary hubs. Local life is documented through numerous rural landmarks like Boxelder Ch & Cem and family-named points such as Hodges Store and the Brown-Lee Store. The transition from river-dependent movement to rail and road is clear, as the St Louis Southwestern Ry and other lines cut through former swamps now cleared for communities like Roseland and Turner.