Loading map...

1959 Map of Nicholson

Name: 1959 Topographic Map of Nicholson
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1977
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1977

About this map

The complex marshes and bayous of the Pearl River divide Mississippi and Louisiana in this 1950s survey, illustrating a landscape defined by its waterways. Along the eastern bank in Hancock County, settlements like Logtown and Pearlington sit amidst a network of intricate drainage systems including Indian Bayou and Turkey Bayou. The Southern Railway corridor anchors the northern reach near Nicholson, while the southern wetlands are marked by isolated family-named landmarks and remote landings such as Davis Landing and Gum Bayou Landing.

Cultural indicators of the era are scattered throughout the piney woods and swamps, from the Westonia Lookout Tower to rural gathering places like Flattop Sch and Harmony Ch. The map provides significant genealogical value through its many burial grounds, including the Turtleskin Cem, Napoleon Cem, and Porter Cem. The abundance of oxbow lakes, such as Bullock Lake and Banks Lake, reflects the shifting nature of the river's path through the low-lying Devlin Swamp near the gulf coast.