1976 Map of Harrisville

About this map

Harrisville and the southern settlement of Covington anchor this mid-1970s orthophotoquad, which uses rectified aerial imagery to reveal the textured Montgomery County landscape. Unlike a traditional line-drawn map, this photographic record shows the exact footprint of forest clearing, agriculture, and timber management as it existed during the Bicentennial year. Narrow rural roads wind through dense woodland, connecting isolated homesteads and small farm plots that emerge as bright geometric patches against the dark canopy. The imagery, captured by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the State of North Carolina, provides an unfiltered look at the rural spatial patterns of the Piedmont, highlighting how topography and soil dictated the development of these small communities before more modern development altered the land use.