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1968 Map of Keen Mountain

Name: 1968 Topographic Map of Keen Mountain
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1972
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1972

About this map

Keen Mountain defines this central portion of the Appalachian coalfields, where the industrial landscape of the late 1960s is etched into every hollow and ridge. The Norfolk and Western railway threads through the valley of Dismal Creek, serving a dense network of extraction sites including several labeled Strip Mines, Tipples, and an Air Shaft. These operations exist alongside long-established mountain communities such as Pilgrims Knob and Grimsleyville, where local life centered on the Bethany Ch and small rural institutions like Contrary Sch.

The complex topography of Sandy Ridge and Garden Ridge is interconnected by narrow gaps and family-named hollows like Big Skeggs Hol. The presence of a Landing Strip near Kennel Gap and a Lookout Tower on English Br reflects the modernization of land management and transportation during this era. This survey documents the intersection of heavy industry and subsistence-rooted settlements before later decades of consolidation and landscape change.