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1939 Map of Modoc

Name: 1939 Topographic Map of Modoc
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1941
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1941

About this map

The Mississippi River dominates this 1939 survey, its course marked by historical meander lines from 1833 and 1835 that reveal the shifting boundary between Arkansas and Mississippi. Along the river’s western banks in Phillips County, a dense network of plantation-era infrastructure is visible, including the Missouri Pacific railroad line and numerous tramways serving timber or agricultural interests. The landscape is a complex system of sloughs and bayous, such as Humphrey Slough and McGehee Bayou, indicating a terrain heavily influenced by seasonal flooding and river migration.

Local social life is anchored by several combined institutions like Beach Tree Ch & Sch and Morning Star Ch & Sch, which reflect the rural settlement patterns of the late 1930s. The presence of the Modoc Crevasse serves as a reminder of the river's power in this era. Communities such as Elaine, Mellwood, and Oneida are depicted alongside family-named landmarks like Watkins Corner, providing specific points of interest for genealogists and regional historians studying the Delta's development before modern levee and drainage projects fully altered the bottomlands.