1972 Map of Aid

About this map

The rugged valleys of southern Ohio's coal and timber country are defined by the winding course of Symmes Creek and the protective canopy of the Wayne National Forest. In the early 1970s, this landscape preserved a traditional Appalachian settlement pattern of ridge-top farms and valley-floor hamlets like Willow Wood and Dobbston. Evidence of the region's industrial and agricultural life is scattered throughout the terrain, from a Strip Mine near Rapp Ridge to the Lookout Tower monitoring the timberlands. Cultural roots run deep here, marked by numerous rural sanctuaries and burial grounds such as New Zion Ch and the Zimmerman Cem. The infrastructure of the era is remarkably preserved, featuring a Covered Bridge on Indian Guyan Creek and the consolidated Symmes Valley High Sch, which served the disparate hollows and ridges of Aid and Mason townships.