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1947 Map of Thornwell

Name: 1947 Topographic Map of Thornwell
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1947
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1947

About this map

The Mermentau River and Lacassine Bayou anchor this 1932 field survey, which documents an intricate network of waterways at the junction of Jefferson Davis Parish and Cameron Parish. The landscape is dominated by large-scale water management, evidenced by the Niblett Farm Canal and the Southwestern Canal, which support agricultural activity across the low-lying terrain. The village of Thornwell serves as a central hub along the Southern Pacific railroad line, while smaller points like Niblett and the Coto Plot represent the dispersed settlement patterns of the era.

Local education and community life are marked by the Lowry Sch near the marshy edges of Lake Arthur. Notable landforms such as Goose Island, Round Island, and Biscuit Island rise above the wetlands, connected by features like the Wildcat Ridge Ditch and Mitchell Bayou. This sheet provides an essential look at the early 20th-century irrigation and drainage infrastructure that transformed the coastal prairie into productive farmland.