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1954 Map of Beverly

Name: 1954 Topographic Map of Beverly
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1967
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1967

About this map

The Red Bird Mission Hospital and Little Cow Red Bird Settlement School serve as central community landmarks in this mid-century survey of the rugged Appalachian borderlands. Straddling the meeting point of Bell, Knox, Leslie, and Clay Counties, the landscape is defined by its dense network of hollows and ridges. Small rural settlements like Beverly and Field (Crockett) are connected by winding roads like KY 66 and KY 221, while the high ground is monitored from a Lookout Tower positioned atop the Knox County-Bell County Ridge.

The local infrastructure is characterized by numerous mountain schools, including the Darbys Branch School, Indian Grave School, and Sandy Fork School, which are tucked into narrow valleys alongside Bear Creek and Laurel Fork. Named gaps such as Bob Slusher Gap and Mud Hole Gap highlight the traditional routes of travel through the steep terrain. This map captures the region's scattered residential pattern, where life was historically oriented around the many branches and forks of the Upper Cumberland headwaters.