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1965 Map of Big Levels

Name: 1965 Topographic Map of Big Levels
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1967
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1967

About this map

George Washington National Forest dominates this mid-1960s survey of the high country where Augusta and Nelson counties meet. The high-elevation terrain is defined by the Blue Ridge and the winding Blue Ridge Parkway, which provides access to several lookout points including The Slacks Overlook and The Priest Overlook. Recreational development is evident throughout the region, with established sites like Shenandoah Acres, Camp Thunderbird, and the Kennedy Fields Campgrounds serving as focal points for outdoor activity near Sherando Lake.

Local history is preserved in small settlements and religious landmarks like Love and the Mountain Top Church. These pockets of habitation sit alongside industrial traces such as various Sandpit and Claypits locations, while the White Rock Cemetery serves as a genealogical marker for early families of the ridge. Water sources like the Saint Marys River and Tye River drain these steep slopes, creating a landscape that balanced federal conservation with local transit and tourism in the post-war era.