1958 Map of Rector

About this map

The St Louis Southwestern RR cuts through the lowlands of the Mississippi Valley, anchoring a landscape defined by an extensive drainage network in the late 1950s. The town of Rector serves as a primary hub in the southeast, while smaller settlements like McDougal and Pollard dot the northern reaches near the Missouri border. This survey reveals a deeply established rural community, evidenced by a high density of country churches and family-named cemeteries, including Cummings Chapel, Blooming Grove Ch, and Trovillion Cem. The complex system of numbered ditches and flumes, such as Ditch No 19 and Ditch No 25, demonstrates the mid-century engineering required to manage the wetlands surrounding the Black River and Cache River. These waterways, along with features like Fish Trap Slough, highlight the importance of water management to the agricultural life of Clay County.