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1891 Map of Jonesville

Name: 1891 Topographic Map of Jonesville
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1937
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1937

About this map

Pine Mountain and Cumberland Mountain define this late nineteenth-century landscape, carving the terrain into a series of parallel ridges and river valleys where the borders of Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee meet. Surveyed in the 1880s, the map illustrates a pre-industrial Central Appalachian geography where travel followed the water gaps and mountain passes. The Powell River and Cumberland River serve as the primary corridors for settlement, linking communities like Jonesville and Mt Pleasant (Harlan).

Genealogists will find numerous family-named landmarks and small crossings, such as Poteet Ford and Jabez Knob, which highlight the early agrarian and homesteading patterns of the region. The map also identifies early mountain passages like Hurricane Gap and War Gap, alongside natural features like the White Rocks escarpment, providing a clear record of the area before the expansion of modern infrastructure or intensive coal mining operations.