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1965 Map of Belle

Name: 1965 Topographic Map of Belle
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1978
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1978

About this map

The Kanawha River serves as the industrial spine of this region, where the Chesapeake and Ohio and Conrail lines parallel the water to support towns like Belle, Marmet, and Chesapeake. The landscape is defined by the intense concentration of extractive industry throughout the Cabin Creek and Loudon districts, marked by numerous strip mines, tipples, and mines tucked into narrow valleys like Wolfpen Hollow and Fields Creek.

Away from the riverfront activity, the terrain rises toward Bee Mountain and the eastern edge of the Kanawha State Forest. Researchers can find evidence of smaller, localized communities through sites such as the Lens Creek Ch and several family-named burial grounds, including Hawks Cem and Hoffman Cem. The southern portion of the sheet crosses into the Sherman district near the Kanawha and Boone County line, featuring rural settlements like Comfort and Maxine.