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1939 Map of Refuge

Name: 1939 Topographic Map of Refuge
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1964
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1964

About this map

The Mississippi River creates a labyrinth of oxbows and cut-offs along the border of Arkansas and Mississippi, defining a landscape of complex hydraulic engineering in the late 1930s. Centered on the growing city of Greenville, the map shows a period of intense river management following the 1935 Tarpley Cut-Off and the 1933 Leland Cut-Off, which dramatically straightened the main channel and left behind remnants like Bachelor Bend and Walker Bend.

Away from the active levee system, the fertile Delta soils support established communities and numerous rural congregations including Mt Pleasant Ch and Pilgrims Rest Ch. Long-standing water bodies like Lake Chicot and Lake Lee dominate the alluvial plain, while the Yazoo and Mississippi Valley RR connects agricultural shipping points such as Swiftwater, Leland, and Metcalfe. The presence of several Indian Mounds highlights a deep pre-contact history in a region defined by its shifting watercourses.