1949 Map of Charters

About this map

Salt Lick Creek carves a deep valley through the center of this Lewis County landscape, serving as the primary corridor for the era's infrastructure and settlement. Small communities and rural gathering points like Charters and Clarksburg are established along the water, while the surrounding highlands of Kentucky Ridge and Eskalapia Mtn remain defined by narrow hollows and steep timbered slopes. The map reveals a highly localized social geography, where isolated schools such as Heselton School and Holly School served families living deep within the drainage basins of Big Branch and Holly Branch. Genealogists will find significant value in the documentation of family-named burial sites, including Hackworth Cem and McCoy Cem, which are tucked away in the smaller hollows. The presence of a Pipe Line cutting across the ridges highlights the mid-century industrial expansion into this otherwise traditional Appalachian landscape.