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1936 Map of Golden Pond

Name: 1936 Topographic Map of Golden Pond
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1936
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1936

About this map

Birmingham and Golden Pond anchor this 1936 survey of the land between the rivers, a landscape on the cusp of total transformation. The map captures the area shortly after the Tennessee Valley Authority was established but before the massive impoundments that would eventually create Lake Barkley and Kentucky Lake. Settlement patterns follow the high ground along the Tennessee Basin Divide, with small communities like Energy, Ironton, and Jonestown dotting the interior.

Industrial history is visible through the Center Furnace and Star Lime Works, while the dense network of country schools such as Oakland Sch and Harvard Sch speaks to the established rural population. Dozens of family-named burial grounds, including the Hillman Ferry Cem and Whitehead Cem, provide critical evidence for genealogists. The Tennessee River dominates the western border, featuring Seven Mile Island, while the Cumberland River flows to the east, defining this narrow, river-bound corridor.