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1940 Map of Lake Drummond

Name: 1940 Topographic Map of Lake Drummond
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1964
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1964

About this map

The Dismal Swamp dominates this 1940 survey, a landscape defined by an intricate network of drainage and transport engineering. At its heart lies the circular expanse of Lake Drummond, connected to the wider region via the Feeger Ditch and the Dismal Swamp Canal. The map captures a transitional era for the local timber and shipping industries, showing the Lumber RR penetrating deep into the swamp's interior while the Intracoastal Waterway and the George Washington Highway provided vital north-south transit corridors.

Fringed by small landings and settlements, the swamp's eastern edge reveals community life at places like Wallaceton and Cornland. Small rural institutions are meticulously recorded, including the Wallaceton Sch and Bethel Ch. To the north, the terrain shifts toward the Southern Br Elizabeth River and the settlement of Deep Creek, where the waterway meets more established coastal commerce. This record preserves the precise layout of now-obscured ditches like the Jericho Ditch and Washington Ditch before later twentieth-century development and conservation efforts altered the landscape's character.