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1954 Map of Jenkins East

Name: 1954 Topographic Map of Jenkins East
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1955
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1955

About this map

Pine Mountain serves as a massive natural barrier along the Kentucky and Virginia border, defining the sharp topography of the Central Appalachian coalfields in the mid-1950s. The coal industry's footprint is evident in the dense network of industrial sites and company towns, from the main hub at Jenkins to satellite settlements like Burdine and Gaskill. The infrastructure of the Chesapeake and Ohio railroad follows the winding path of Elkhorn Creek, connecting these mountain communities.

Social life in these hollows centered around local institutions, with numerous schools and churches such as Lick Fork Sch, Upper Elkhorn Creek Sch, and the Marshall Branch Ch serving the population. Extensive strip mines and localized mine operations are marked along the ridges, particularly near Beefhide and Shelby Gap, illustrating the intense extraction that fueled the regional economy during this era.