1939 Map of Chestoa

About this map

The Nolichucky River carves a deep path through the high ridges of the Cherokee National Forest and Pisgah National Forest on this survey of the Tennessee-North Carolina border. In 1939, when the Tennessee Valley Authority field-checked this area, the landscape was a mix of isolated riverfront settlements and managed wilderness. The Clinchfield RR follows the river's winding course, passing through Chestoa and Unaka Springs, while a segment of the Appalachian Trail traverses Johnson Rock Ridge to the east. The density of rural infrastructure, including the Mountainview Sch and several family-named gaps like Hollybush Gap and Curley Maple Gap, reflects a settled mountain geography before the later 20th-century consolidation of timber and game lands. Researchers can trace small communities like River Hill and Lost Cove alongside the state line dividing Unicoi County from Mitchell and Yancey Counties.