1896 Map of Hillsville

About this map

The New River winds through the Blue Ridge foothills in this late nineteenth-century survey, anchoring a landscape defined by iron and lead production. Early industrial activity is prominent along the river and its tributaries, with Pierce Furnace, Boom Furnace, and Radford Furnace marking the era's mining and smelting operations. The village of Hillsville serves as the central hub of Carroll County, surrounded by a complex terrain of named knobs and gaps that shaped regional travel. Transport across the deep river valleys relied on numerous historical crossings such as Howards Ferry, Jackson Ferry, and Jones Ford, long before modern bridges spanned these waters. Genealogists and historians can trace the early layout of Old Town and Sylvatus, or locate family-named landmarks like Spargers Mill and Hawks Mill near the Virginia-North Carolina boundary line. The Norfolk and Western RR skirts the northwestern corner, connecting the iron-rich hills of Wythe and Pulaski counties to broader markets.