1920 Map of Holland

About this map

The Blackwater River and Somerton Creek define this rural borderland surveyed just after the Great War, where the river-and-rail economy of southern Virginia meets North Carolina. The hub of Franklin sits at a critical junction of the Southern Ry and Seaboard Air Line railroads, serving as a gateway for the region's timber and agricultural trade. This map documents a landscape of scattered family-named crossroads and centers of worship, such as Maynards Crossroads and Joyners Church. Water power and river access are paramount, evidenced by Holland Millpond and several specialized river landings like Milk Landing and Cox Landing. These features, along with Manning Ferry crossing the Chowan River, reveal a time when travel was still intimately tied to the waterways and local ferries before modern infrastructure reshaped the tidewater region.