1956 Map of Valley Ridge

About this map

The St Francis River defines the landscape of this mid-century Missouri survey, winding through the borderlands of Butler, Dunklin, and Stoddard counties. This era reveals a sophisticated network of drainage infrastructure, such as Ditch No 11 and Ditch No 12, which transformed the bootheel's lowlands into productive acreage. Long-standing river crossings like Higginbothams Ferry and Dekyns Ferry indicate the continued reliance on water-based transit even as the St Louis Southwestern Railroad provided heavy-duty land connections. Small agrarian communities are densely mapped with combined social centers like Depoyster Ch & Sch and Bridge Ch & Sch, alongside family-named sites such as Stephens Cem and McMurphy Cem. From the concentrated settlement of Campbell to the scattered farms of Wilhelmina, the map preserves a layout of rural Missouri life before modern consolidation.