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1939 Map of Wickliffe

Name: 1939 Topographic Map of Wickliffe
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1941
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1941

About this map

The Mississippi River and Ohio River converge in this 1930s survey, illustrating a landscape defined by high bluffs and low-lying alluvial plains across three states. In Kentucky, the town of Wickliffe sits atop the escarpment overlooking the massive Cane Island and Cane Island Chute, while the community of Fort Jefferson marks the historic riverside south of the confluence. The map reveals an intricate network of drainage and flood control, including the Main Ditch and numerous levees protecting the bottomlands from the river's meandering bends like Puntney Bend and Lucas Bend.

Social and transportation hubs are centered around the Illinois Central Railroad and Mobile and Ohio Railroad, which link settlements like Arlington, Columbus, and Berkeley. For genealogists, the map is remarkably detailed, locating combined institutions such as St Pauls Ch & Sch and Bethlehem Ch & Sch, alongside family-named landmarks like Griggs Cem and Travner Cem. Prehistoric sites are also noted with Indian Mounds recorded near the river bluffs.