Loading map...

1925 Map of Kingwood

Name: 1925 Topographic Map of Kingwood
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1925
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1925

About this map

The Cheat River winds through the heart of Preston County, carving a deep valley that historically dictated the path of industry and transit in West Virginia. This 1925 edition, based on earlier surveys by A. M. Walker and J. R. McMillen, illustrates a landscape dominated by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad as it follows the river's contours through Rowlesburg and Tunnelton. The mapping reveals a dense network of one-room schoolhouses such as Union School and Grange Hall School, reflecting the decentralized rural life of the era.

Prominent transportation arteries like the Northwestern Virginia Turnpike and the Morgantown Turnpike connect the county seat at Kingwood with outlying settlements like Terra Alta and Albright. The terrain is marked by significant elevations including Mt Olivet Ridge and the Brushy Knobs, while the presence of the Pleasant Valley Ford points to earlier, more rudimentary methods of crossing the Cheat before the proliferation of bridges.