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1943 Map of De Witt

Name: 1943 Topographic Map of De Witt
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1961
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1961

About this map

The Seaboard Air Line railroad cuts a sharp diagonal path through the Dinwiddie County countryside, anchoring the small settlement of DeWitt during the early 1940s. This rural landscape is defined by its drainage systems, where White Oak Creek and Butterwood Creek wind through dense woods toward Stony Creek. The map reveals a community structured around its spiritual and social centers, featuring numerous rural houses of worship including Mt Calvary Ch, Bott Memorial Ch, and Eleven Oak Ch.

Remote crossroads like Baltimore Corner and Center Star mark the intersections of unimproved dirt roads and light-duty routes, illustrating the pre-war transportation network of south-central Virginia. The presence of the Beacon near DeWitt suggests the importance of aerial navigation waypoints in this era. For researchers, the map provides precise locations for family-named landmarks and water features such as Colemans Lake and Red Lick Branch, preserving the footprint of these small communities before mid-century modernization.