The reclamation of the Missouri Bootheel: The formation of the Little River Drainage District

The reclamation of the Missouri Bootheel began in the early twentieth century with the formation of the Little River Drainage District, a publicly incorporated district that stretches across six counties in the Missouri Bootheel. The formation of the district occurred after timber companies deforested much of the land in the late nineteenth century. The district employed skilled engineers and contractors who used large dragline excavators to dig more than six hundred miles of ditches and canals. The formation of the district and the infrastructure it created altered and controlled the natural environment thereby facilitating the development of sustainable agriculture in the region. The world's largest drainage project at the time, it transformed a half million acres into some of the most fertile farmland in the United States. This reclamation project was the catalyst that triggered major economic and demographic changes throughout the district during the 1920s and 1930s. This period of growth concluded after World War II due to the mechanization of agriculture and increased economic opportunities in more urbanized areas. By establishing the centrality of the Little River Drainage District to the transformation of the Missouri Bootheel, this dissertation provides an essential context for future studies of the tangible and intangible heritages that emerged or evolved because of the dynamic growth occurring during the 1920s and 1930s.