1953 Map of Ashland

About this map

The coal country of eastern Pennsylvania is defined here by the deep cuts and ridges of the Appalachian Mountains, where towns like Ashland and Girardville sit in the narrow valleys between Mahanoy Mountain and Broad Mountain. This specific survey shows Centralia before the onset of the mine fire that would eventually lead to its near-total relocation, with the neighboring settlement of Byrnesville and the Centralia Fire Tower clearly marked. The landscape is heavily marked by the region's industrial heritage, showing extensive mine dumps and mine dumps lining the hillsides above the Conrail lines that follow the course of Mahanoy Creek. Between the urban centers, family landmarks like Prezler and the Immaculate Heart Academy near Fountain Springs offer specific points of interest for local historians and genealogists tracing the social and physical geography of the mid-20th-century coal region.