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1896 Map of Buckhannon

Name: 1896 Topographic Map of Buckhannon
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1902
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1902

About this map

Buckhannon serves as the focal point for this late 19th-century study of central West Virginia, where the West Virginia and Pittsburgh RR follows the meandering course of the Buckhannon River. The landscape is a complex network of high ridges like Turkey Bone Mtn and Beech Mtn, divided by the headwaters of the West Fork Monongahela River and the Middle Fork River.

Genealogists will find a wealth of specific local landmarks, from small crossroads like Frenchton and Alkires Mill to the Staunton and Parkerburg Turnpike cutting through the hills. The map captures an era of dispersed rural settlement, documenting numerous family-named knobs and hollows alongside early spiritual centers such as Goshen Church, Fairview Church, and the descriptively named Buckwheat Church. The transition between county lines, including the intersection of Upshur Co, Lewis Co, and Randolph Co, illustrates the political geography of the Appalachian highlands before modern highway development.