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1954 Map of Jenkins West

Name: 1954 Topographic Map of Jenkins West
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1956
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1956

About this map

Neon and Fleming anchor this 1950s study of the coal-rich highlands along the Kentucky-Virginia border. The landscape is defined by the deep incisions of Rockhouse Creek and Elkhorn Creek, where narrow valleys host a dense network of mountain settlements like Hemphill (Jackhorn PO) and McRoberts. These communities are physically linked by the Chesapeake and Ohio and Louisville and Nashville railroads, which snake through the topography to serve the intensive extraction operations labeled as strip mines.

Southward, the terrain rises sharply toward Pine Mountain and the Jefferson National Forest, where landmarks like the Lookout Tower near Pound Gap overlook the headwaters of the North Fork Kentucky River. Local social life of the era is evidenced by features ranging from the Drive-in Theater near Neon Junction to the numerous small schools, including Fishpond Sch and Little Creek Sch, serving isolated mountain hollows.