1899 Map of Grantsville

About this map

Negro Mountain and Savage Mountain dominate this late-nineteenth-century survey of the Maryland-Pennsylvania borderlands. This high-altitude landscape is defined by long, parallel ridges and the deep valley of the Savage River, where early Appalachian settlements like New Germany and Grantsville established themselves along the existing road networks. The map captures a moment when the regional economy was transitioning between mountain agriculture and the heavy industry emerging at Moscow Mills and Barton. Genealogical details are abundant, including family-named landmarks such as Ridgley Hill, Warnick Point, and Rhodes Hill, alongside local religious centers like the church at Piney Grove. The intricate drainage patterns of Big Shade Run and Crabtree Run illustrate how the terrain dictated the placement of small communities like Bittinger and Avilton within the narrow corridors of Garrett and Allegany counties.