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1957 Map of Bluefield

Name: 1957 Topographic Map of Bluefield
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1967
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1967

About this map

Bluefield and Princeton anchor this region where the coal-bearing plateau of West Virginia meets the ridge-and-valley topography of Virginia. In the late 1950s, this landscape was defined by the deep-cut river valleys of the New River and Guyandotte River, which served as the primary corridors for massive railroad operations including the Norfolk and Western and the Virginian. The map highlights a network of industrial mining towns like Welch and Mullens, set against the backdrop of protected lands in the Jefferson National Forest and Monongahela National Forest.

Water management and recreation appear in the prominent footprints of the Bluestone Reservoir and Claytor Lake. These impoundments, along with several state parks such as Babcock State Park, show a transition toward managed wilderness. The transportation network is in flux, with established routes like U.S. 52 and U.S. 460 appearing alongside the nascent development of Interstate 81 near Wytheville and Christiansburg.