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1940 Map of Blocton

Name: 1940 Topographic Map of Blocton
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1940
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1940

About this map

The Cahaba River and Little Cahaba River carve through a landscape defined by Alabama's industrial and rural heritage during the early 1940s. Centered on the coal-mining communities of West Blocton and Blocton, the map reveals a dense network of transit and labor, with the Southern, Louisville And Nashville, and Mobile And Ohio railroads connecting isolated settlements like Belle Ellen and Piper to the broader region.

Beyond the industrial nodes, the survey captures the social fabric of Bibb County through its family-named schools and country churches. Features such as Mt Olivet Ch, Gray Hill Sch, and Schultz Creek Ch mark the ridges and hollows of Sand Mountain and Primitive Ridge. The inclusion of the Freeman Line and scattered rural outposts like Scottsville and Greeley provides a detailed look at the settlement patterns that existed before later mid-century changes.