1968 Map of Athens

About this map

Concord College serves as a prominent landmark in the community of Athens, situated on the eastern ridges of this Mercer County landscape as it was documented in the late 1960s. The topography is defined by the winding course of the Bluestone River and its numerous tributaries, such as Camp Creek and Brush Creek. Significant transportation infrastructure of the era is evident, including the West Virginia Turnpike Toll Road cutting North-South through the center of the sheet and the Norfolk and Western railway corridor near Princeton. Local rural life is detailed through numerous small settlements like Spanishburg and Melrose, alongside scattered country churches including Painters Chapel and Pisgah Ch. The presence of Mercer Healing Springs and several rural schools like Silver Springs Sch highlights the social fabric of these mountain communities before modern consolidation altered the local geography.