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1949 Map of Bethesda

Name: 1949 Topographic Map of Bethesda
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1949
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1949

About this map

Bethesda and the surrounding rural communities of Peytonsville and Little Texas occupy this portion of Williamson County during the late 1940s. The landscape is defined by the prominent Duck River Ridge Divide and the Tennessee Divide, which separate the drainage of the Harpeth River and its numerous tributaries from the river valleys to the south. This era shows a settled agricultural region interconnected by historic thoroughfares like the Lewisburg and Franklin Pike and Arno Pike.

Genealogists will find a wealth of family-named landmarks, including over twenty distinct burial sites such as Halfacre Cem, Merritt Cem, and Sprott Cem. The map also captures the local infrastructure of the period, from country schools like Goose Creek Sch and Rudderville Sch to small congregations at Cowles Chapel and New Hope Ch. A lone Strip Mine in the western hills suggests the localized industrial activity of the time.