1929 Map of Paducah

About this map

The Ohio River and Tennessee River converge at a critical junction in this early twentieth-century landscape, where river traffic met the iron rails of the Illinois Central RR. On the Kentucky side, Paducah is shown as a developed urban hub with neighborhoods like Evandale Heights and Woodlawn expanding southward. Across the water in Illinois, Metropolis and Brookport serve as key riverfront entries, with the historical grounds of Fort Massac State Park preserved on the shoreline. This era shows a countryside dense with small community landmarks, including numerous rural schools like Round Spring Sch and Klondike Sch, and local institutions such as the County Sanitarium. The map details the complex drainage of the Black Bottom region, where islands like Owens Island and backwater lakes such as Allard Lake reveal the original hydrology of the floodplain before modern river management significantly altered the riverbanks.