1951 Map of Mulberry

About this map

Mulberry serves as the focal point of this 1951 survey, situated along the Missouri Pacific railroad where the Mulberry River winds toward its confluence with the Arkansas River. The landscape is defined by the sharp transition from the river bottoms to the imposing Mill Creek Mountain, which separates the fertile plains of Vine Prairie from the southern drainages. This mid-century view documents a rural community supported by a mix of agriculture and industry, shown through several sawmills and a strip mine near the settlement of Vesta. Local history is deeply embedded in the map's labels, which locate numerous country churches and schools that anchored life in the early 1950s. Pleasant View and Riverdale appear as small settlements, while the presence of Court House Slough and Arbuckle Island illustrates the complex, shifting hydrology of the river system before modern navigation controls.