1940 Map of Manleyville

About this map

The Big Sandy River forms a wide, complex drainage basin where Henry and Benton Counties meet, characterized in the 1940s by an extensive network of man-made water management. Long straight channels like the Bear Creek Drainage Ditch and Dry Creek Drainage DITCH cut through the bottomlands, reflecting early efforts to manage the landscape for agriculture. The settlement pattern is defined by small, dispersed rural communities such as Manleyville and Wyly, supported by a dense network of local institutions. Genealogists will find a wealth of specific family and community landmarks, including Smith College, Spring Creek School, and Manley Chapel Cemetery. The presence of numerous small cemeteries such as Walters Cem and Haines Cem near Bentley Creek illustrates the deep-rooted family history of this West Tennessee river valley before later twentieth-century developments altered the local geography.