2013 Map of Big Ridge Park

About this map

Norris Lake dominates the northern reaches of this East Tennessee landscape, its fingers reaching into deep valleys created by the ridgelines of Chestnut Ridge and Copper Ridge. The map details a transition from the submerged shoreline near Andersonville Dock to the established agricultural and residential pockets of the Hinds Creek Valley. Numerous named gaps, such as Malone Gap and Collins Gap, reveal the historic transportation routes used to navigate this corrugated terrain before modern road improvements. The settlement pattern is defined by small, decentralized communities like New Loyston, Paulette, and Warwicktown, often situated at key road junctions or near water sources. Significant landmarks for local history include the site of Stokes Mill on Hinds Creek and several topographic features named for early families, such as Longmire Bluff and Bayless Gap.