1971 Map of Portageville

About this map

The town of Portageville sits at the heart of this Missouri Bootheel landscape, defined by a complex network of agricultural drainage and early 1970s transit corridors. The area is heavily marked by the channelization of the Old Channel Little River and the Portage Open Bay, which reflect the region's historic transition from swamp to fertile farmland. For genealogists, this map is an exceptional resource, documenting a dense cluster of family-named burial sites including Meatte Cem, Arbuckle Cem, Crabtree Cem, and Smith-Ellis Cem. The St Louis-San Francisco railroad and U.S. Highway 61 run parallel through the territory, passing the small settlements of Jaywye and Conran. Further south, the community of Hayward and landmarks like Penman Airfield show the rural development of New Madrid and Pemiscot counties.