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1901 Map of Hancock

Name: 1901 Topographic Map of Hancock
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1906
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1906

About this map

Hancock stands at the narrowest point of the Maryland panhandle, where the Potomac River carves a deep valley between the ridges of the Appalachian Mountains. This 1899 survey documents the critical transportation corridor of the era, where the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, the Cumberland and Baltimore Turnpike, and the Baltimore and Ohio R. R. all converge in a tight race for westward passage. To the southeast, the bastion of Fort Frederick remains a prominent landmark near Big Pool, overlooking the river's winding course.

Industrial and agricultural life is evidenced by Yeakle Mill and Johnsons Mill, while local landmarks like Lovers Leap and Devils Nose punctuate the steep terrain of Sleepy Creek Mountain. The map details many small communities across three states, including Berkeley Springs in West Virginia and the various ridge-line settlements like Dogtown and Tomahawk, providing a look at the region's geography before twentieth-century development.