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1961 Map of Mellwood

Name: 1961 Topographic Map of Mellwood
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1965
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1965

About this map

The Mississippi River snakes through the borderlands of Arkansas and Mississippi on this 1961 field-checked survey, revealing a landscape defined by hydraulic engineering and historical flooding. The map documents significant shifts in the river's course, including the Jackson Cut-Off (1941) and the Sunflower Cut-Off (1942), which transformed former meanders into isolated oxbows like Swan Lake and Lake Charles. Near the settlement of Knowlton, the site of the Knowlton Crevasse (1912) serves as a reminder of the massive flood that breached the levee system decades prior.

Settlement patterns follow the high ground along the levees and bayous, with numerous small communities such as Mellwood, Lundell, and Rena Lara connected by the Memphis Vicksburg route. The map is particularly rich for genealogical research, identifying over a dozen rural congregations and burial sites, including Zion Traveler Ch, Precious Chapel, and the Mt Moriah Ch near Deeson. Complex drainage networks like Bogue Phalia and Hushpuckena River illustrate the fertile, low-lying delta terrain characteristic of Phillips and Coahoma counties.