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1911 Map of Flattop

Name: 1911 Topographic Map of Flattop
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1911
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1911

About this map

Flat Top Mountain and the surrounding plateaus of southern West Virginia appear here during a period of industrial expansion into the coalfields. The Virginian Ry winds through the western terrain, serving coal settlements like Affinity, Hotcoal, and Winding Gulf. This map illustrates the intersection of industrial rail development with an established rural landscape, where dozens of small schools—such as the curiously named Long Wanted School, Camp Wasp School, and Suck School—supported the isolated communities of Shady Spring Mountain and Whiteoak Mountain.

Tracing the waters of the Bluestone River and Glade Creek, the survey reveals a network of hollows and ridges like Millers Hollow and Devils Backbone. The presence of the Spangler Factory near Crab Orchard and the Winding Gulf Br railroad line highlights the early 20th-century economic shift from subsistence farming toward extractive industries and manufacturing in the Raleigh and Mercer County borderlands.