1955 Map of Appalachia

About this map

The Kentucky Virginia Divide follows the high crest of Black Mountain, setting the stage for a landscape defined by intensive coal extraction and rail transport in the mid-1950s. Communities like Appalachia and Big Stone Gap serve as the primary hubs, where the L & N, Interstate, and Southern rail lines converge to move resources from the interior hollows. Industrial features such as the Interstate Yards, Southern Yards, and numerous Strip Mines are deeply integrated into the local geography. Significant mining operations, including the Exeter Mine and its accompanying Exeter School, reflect the era's company-town structure. High above the valley floors, an Aerial cableway near Derby and the Dismantled railroad near Osaka indicate the evolving infrastructure of the Wise County coalfields as older methods gave way to modern mechanized mining.