1959 Map of Kayjay

About this map

The Louisville and Nashville railroad winds through the deep valleys of Bell County, serving an economy deeply rooted in resource extraction. Numerous strip mines and individual mines dot the landscape surrounding settlements like Kayjay and Wheeler, illustrating the intensive coal production of the late 1950s. The terrain is dominated by the massive ridges of Pine Mountain and Log Mountain, with much of the eastern portion preserved within the Kentucky Ridge State Forest. Local genealogy and social history are anchored by rural institutions, including Fuson Chapel, Centennial Ch, and several family-named burial grounds like Bratcher Cem and Jones Cem. From the small community of Logmont in the south to the schools at Buckeye Sch and Pine Grove Sch, the map traces a network of mountain roads and hollows that once defined life in the Kentucky coalfields.