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1959 Map of Aurora

Name: 1959 Topographic Map of Aurora
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1960
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1960

About this map

Cathedral State Park stands as a central landmark in this 1959 survey of the West Virginia highlands, where the George Washington Highway winds through the village of Aurora. The map details a landscape defined by ridge-top agriculture and deep hollows, notably along Lantz Ridge and Stemple Ridge. For the family historian, the sheet is exceptionally well-indexed with rural institutions such as the Accident School, Maple Grove Church, and several family-named burial grounds like Beachy Cemetery and Carmel Cemetery.

Settlement patterns follow the high ground and narrow valley floors, from the small cluster at Amboy in the north to Eglon and Horse Shoe Run in the south. The rugged topography of the Brushy Knobs is contrasted by industrial activity, including scattered quarries and a strip mine near the northeastern boundary. Much of the southern terrain is integrated into the Monongahela National Forest, illustrating the region's late 1950s balance between conserved timberland and established mountain communities.