1890 Map of Mount Ida

About this map

Mt Ida serves as the focal point for this late nineteenth-century survey of the Ouachita Mountains region, where early settlements followed the winding river valleys. The topography is dominated by parallel ridges including White Oak Mountain, Dutch Creek Mountain, and Muddy Creek Mountain, which directed the flow of the Washita or Ouachita River and the Fourche La Fave River. Small communities such as Silver City and Bluffton are documented alongside natural landmarks like Buck Knob. The drainage patterns of Cedar Creek, Dutch Creek, and Big Fork define the habitable terrain between these steep elevations. This 1887 field survey, later reprinted in 1912, captures the Montgomery and Scott County landscape before modern infrastructure altered the accessibility of these mountain gaps and river crossings.