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1936 Map of Paducah

Name: 1936 Topographic Map of Paducah
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1936
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1936

About this map

Paducah sits at a powerful geographic nexus where the Ohio River meets the Tennessee River, as documented in this 1936 survey by the Tennessee Valley Authority. The city's growth is clearly defined by the Paducah City Boundary, showing the dense street grid transitioning into surrounding communities like Tyler, Oakdale, and Woodlawn. Industrial and transport hubs are central to the landscape, including the extensive yard of the Illinois Central railroad and the Clark Memorial Bridge spanning the Ohio.

North of the river, the landscape changes to the marshy Black Bottom of Illinois, dotted with names like Little Rock Sch and Black Bottom Sch. To the southeast, the Tennessee River Basin is home to rural landmarks such as Rosebower Ch and Lake Genevieve. The map records a river-centric economy prior to significant mid-century shoreline changes, preserving the locations of Owens Island and several towheads that once navigated these commercial waterways.