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1952 Map of Ivydell

Name: 1952 Topographic Map of Ivydell
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1966
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1966

About this map

Walnut Mountain Lookout Tower stands as a prominent sentinel over this 1952 landscape, where the coal economy and rural settlement patterns are etched into the Cumberland Plateau. Numerous small-scale Coal mines and scattered coal ruins are peppered across the ridges, particularly around Stinking Creek and the slopes of Pine Mountain. The mapping reveals a community structured by deep hollows and family-named landmarks, such as Henry Ayers Cemetery, Broyles Cemetery, and the New Mammoth Cave Church.

Transportation in the early 1950s relied on a network of winding roads and the Southern Railway, which served the growing hub at La Follette and the smaller settlement of Elk Valley. The terrain is characterized by dramatic gaps like Big Hurricane Gap and McNew Gap, while the La Follette Reservoir provides a central water feature for the valley. For genealogists, the density of small family burial grounds and institutions like the Flat Rock School offer a clear window into the mid-century social fabric of Campbell County.