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1961 Map of Paducah

Name: 1961 Topographic Map of Paducah
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1961
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1961

About this map

The confluence of the Ohio River, Mississippi River, Tennessee River, and Cumberland River anchors this regional study of the tri-state area. Compiled from earlier surveys, the map illustrates the landscape just as the massive impoundments of Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley were reshaping the hydrology and topography of western Kentucky. Large-scale conservation and management areas are prominent, including the Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge and extensive tracts of the Shawnee National Forest across southern Illinois.

Major transit corridors like U S Highway 45 and the Illinois Central RR link established river towns such as Paducah and Cairo with smaller settlements like Grand Chain and Cave in Rock. From the Shawneetown Hills to the bottomlands of the Cache River, the map details a complex network of drainage and transportation that supported the mid-century agricultural and industrial economy of the Lower Ohio Valley.