1915 Map of Hurley

About this map

Grundy and the surrounding hollows of Buchanan Co are captured here during a period of early 20th-century development just before World War I. This advance sheet, surveyed in cooperation with the State of Virginia Geological Survey and the State of Kentucky Geological Survey, details a landscape where life was organized around the intricate drainage systems of Knox Creek and Slate Creek. The map provides an exceptionally high density of rural educational markers for the era, identifying remote centers of learning such as Upper Rocklick School, Looneyville School, and Slate School. Settlement patterns follow the narrow valley floors, with community hubs established at Hurley and the Pawpaw P O. The presence of numerous named branches and forks, including Knotty Poplar Fork and Lester Fork, underscores the importance of local topography in defining property and community boundaries in this corner of the Commonwealth.