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1953 Map of Gravel Switch

Name: 1953 Topographic Map of Gravel Switch
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1954
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1954

About this map

Gravel Switch and the surrounding central Kentucky hill country are captured here at a moment when the Louisville and Nashville railroad and the Jane Todd Crawford Trail defined the regional movement of goods and people. The landscape is a complex network of knobs and hollows, where small settlements like Aliceton and Riley grew along the rail line and creek bottoms. This 1953 field check reveals a community anchored by rural institutions, including Beech Fork Ch, Kedron Ch, and several family burial grounds such as the Tatum Cem and Minor Cem.

The southern portion of the quadrangle is dominated by the winding course of the Rolling Fork, which forms the boundary between Marion, Boyle, and Casey counties. This area is characterized by prominent peaks including Cooley Knob, Buffalo Lick Knob, and Rawlings Knob. The map provides excellent detail for genealogists tracing ancestral homesteads near Craintown or looking for the exact positions of lost landmarks like the Siloam Ch and the many unnamed schools and farmsteads scattered through the Logan Creek and Beech Fork watersheds.