1958 Map of Big Pool

About this map

Potomac River valley life in the late 1950s is defined by its deep-seated transport history, where the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal and Western Maryland railroad parallel the winding river. The northern bank in Maryland is anchored by the historic Fort Frederick within its namesake Fort Frederick State Park, situated beside the large water body of Big Pool. Across the water in West Virginia, the landscape of Berkeley and Morgan counties transitions into the prominent ridges of Sleepy Creek Mountain and North Mountain. Small rural communities like Tomahawk and Johnsontown are scattered among these ridges, connected by a network of local landmarks including Pleasant View Sch, Hedges Chapel, and Snyders Ch. The terrain is deeply furrowed by waterways such as Back Creek and Cherry Run, which carved the valleys used by the B & O railroad to traverse the Appalachian foothills.