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1891 Map of Jonesville

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

USGS Topo · Published 1891

About this map

Jonesville and the central valley of Lee County dominate this late 19th-century survey, which documents the complex mountain corridors where Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee meet. The terrain is defined by a series of parallel ridges including Cumberland Mountain, Powell Mountain, and the massive Big Black Mountain to the north. Settlement is concentrated along the river bottoms and gaps, with the Powell River serving as a primary axis for communities like Rose Hill and Pennington Gap.

Genealogists will find several post offices and river crossings recorded before significant modern development, such as Shafers P.O. and Kyles Ford P.O.. River travel is evidenced by established crossings like Poteet Ford and Dickersons Ford. In the Kentucky portion of the map, the community of Mt Pleasant (Harlan P.O.) sits along the Cumberland River, marking an early urban center in Harlan County long before the peak of the region's industrial coal era.