1959 Map of Elk Mills

About this map

Watauga Lake dominates the center of this 1959 Tennessee Valley Authority revision, its branching inlets flooding deep into Roan Creek and the Watauga River valley. The map documents the high-country settlements of the Appalachian borderlands, showing the community of Elk Mills and the clustered dwellings at Buntontown and Peoria. The landscape reflects a transition from early subsistence patterns to a managed forestry and recreational economy, evidenced by the Cherokee National Forest boundary and the presence of the Roan Creek Boat Dock and Gregg Boat Dock.