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1958 Map of Garretts Bend

Name: 1958 Topographic Map of Garretts Bend
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1960
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1960

About this map

Garretts Bend and the surrounding hollows of West Virginia define this mid-century landscape where four counties — Putnam, Kanawha, Lincoln, and Duval — converge. The map reflects a deeply dissected plateau, where life centered on the winding waters of Trace Fork and Lick Creek. The sheer volume of individual Gas Wells and complex network of pipelines indicates an era of intensive resource extraction that shaped the local economy and road development.

Social life is anchored by a remarkable density of community institutions, including Elizabeth Ch and Mt Zion Ch, and numerous rural schoolhouses such as Pleasant View Sch and Dry Branch Sch. Small family burial sites like Nelson Cem are scattered across the ridges, providing valuable geographic markers for genealogists tracing families in the Curry and Washington districts. The terrain remains dominated by named features like Rocky Knob, illustrating the difficult travel between these isolated hollow settlements.