1963 Map of Amherstdale

About this map

Buffalo Creek serves as the industrial and social backbone of this Logan County landscape, where the Chesapeake and Ohio railroad threads through a series of coal-mining communities. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the valley was densely settled with towns such as Amherstdale, Accoville, Braeholm, and Kistler. The geography of extraction is evident in the numerous strip mines and mine dumps that line the ridges, particularly around Kelly Mountain and Blair Mountain. Local life is anchored by institutions like the Buffalo School and Mt Olive Church, while family history is preserved at the Ruffner Cemetery and Lowe Cemetery. The map captures the intricate relationship between the narrow creek bottoms and the steep mountain terrain of the Triadelphia district during a peak era of Appalachian coal production.