1939 Map of Refuge

About this map

Greenville sits at a critical bend in the river, showing the complex industrial and residential grid of a Mississippi delta hub at the end of the 1930s. The landscape is defined by the massive, shifting course of the river, where man-made engineering like the Tarpley Cut-Off (1935) and Leland Cut-Off (1933) have transformed old river loops into expansive oxbows like Lake Chicot and Lake Lee. These engineering efforts, documented by the Corps of Engineers, were vital for flood control and navigation during an era when the river remained the region's primary artery.