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1947 Map of Alto

Name: 1947 Topographic Map of Alto
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1948
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1948

About this map

The Cumberland Escarpment rises sharply along the eastern edge of this 1947 survey, overlooking a landscape defined by the winding course of the Elk River. This territory at the meeting of Coffee, Franklin, and Grundy counties shows a deeply rooted rural infrastructure of small farming communities and family settlements. The Dixie Highway serves as the primary north-south artery, passing through Pelham and near numerous rural institutions like the Thompson Hall School and Mt Nebo Ch.

Genealogists will find an exceptional density of burial sites across the valley floor, including Cash Cem, Tate Cem, and Ikard Cem. River crossings remain critical to the local geography, evidenced by the Dabbs Ford Bridge and Patterson Ford Bridge. Notable local landmarks such as Jail Island, Delly Hole, and the many bottomlands like Dickey Bottom illustrate a topography where water and low-lying drainage shaped the location of schools and churches like Wilder Chapel and the Shake-Rag Sch.