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1920 Map of Altoona

Name: 1920 Topographic Map of Altoona
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1954
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1954

About this map

The industrial and mountain landscapes of central Pennsylvania meet at Altoona, a major rail hub defined here by the Pennsylvania Railroad and the Altoona & Logans Valley lines. The topography transitions sharply from the deep ravines of Allegheny Mountain in the west to the ridges of Brush Mountain in the east. Between these heights, the Little Juniata River carves a path through a corridor of early 20th-century settlements like Bellwood, Tipton, and Grazierville.

Local history and genealogy are anchored by a high density of rural schoolhouses, including the Dakota School, Richland School, and the Sabbath Rest School. The presence of Rose Hill Cemetery and the sprawling Allegheny Reservoir suggest the evolving infrastructure of the region during the 1920s. Small coal and timber communities such as Blandburg, Mountaindale, and Frugality are shown along the various runs and gaps, providing a detailed look at the scattered hamlets that supported the area's extraction and transit economies.