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1951 Map of Van Buren

Name: 1951 Topographic Map of Van Buren
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1951
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1951

About this map

Van Buren serves as the focal point of this 1940s landscape, positioned along the northern bank of the Arkansas River. The city’s mid-century industrial footprint is clearly visible, including a Zinc smelter, several Strip mines, and the Smeltzer facility. The town's grid is flanked by the Missouri Pacific and St Louis-San Francisco railroads, which facilitated the movement of goods through this river-valley corridor.

Beyond the urban center, the map documents small rural communities and local landmarks such as Wright Town, Meadows, and Concord. Significant genealogical detail is preserved through the locations of numerous burial grounds like Grace Lawn Cemetery and Forest Park Cemetery, along with country parishes including Shibley Church and New Hope Church. The river bottomlands are defined by oxbow features like Hollis Lake and Ned Lake, providing a detailed look at the hydraulic character of the Upper Sandals area before modern development altered the floodplain.