Loading map...

1947 Map of Durham

Name: 1947 Topographic Map of Durham
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1947
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1947

About this map

Lookout Mountain dominates the western half of this 1946 survey, its high plateau defined by the dramatic incision of Sitton Gulch within Cloudland Canyon State Park. The landscape transition is sharp, falling away from the mountain's steep eastern escarpment into the agricultural breadth of Chattanooga Valley. Small rural communities and post offices like Durham and Thompsonville are connected by the Lookout Mountain Scenic Highway, while the valley floor below is home to Cassandra and Cooper Heights.

Genealogists and local historians can trace family locations through numerous landmarks, including New Salem Ch, Prospect Ch, and the Coulter Cem. The mapping captures the area's mid-century rural infrastructure, from the Lookout Mtn Rural Sch to the high-elevation Lookout Tower near Johnson Crook, providing a detailed record of the Dade and Walker County borderlands before modern suburban expansion.