1958 Map of Big A Mountain

About this map

Big A Mountain stands as a prominent landmark along the Tennessee Valley Divide, where the rugged border of Buchanan and Russell Counties follows the ridgelines. In this 1950s landscape, small mountain communities like Council and Venia are connected by narrow roads winding through deep hollows carved by Hurricane Creek and the Russell Fork. The map reveals a highly localized social fabric, defined by dozens of family cemeteries such as Presley Cem, Ball Cem, and Tiller Cem, alongside numerous country schools including Fletcher Ridge School and Crabtree Sch. The southern portion is dominated by the Jefferson National Forest, while evidence of the region's industrial transitions appears via a Strip mine and the Norfolk and Western rail line. This survey captures a moment when the Helen Henderson Highway served as the primary artery through a landscape still largely defined by ridge-top agriculture and hollow-based settlements.