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1960 Map of Little Switzerland

Name: 1960 Topographic Map of Little Switzerland
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1962
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1962

About this map

The Clinchfield railroad carves a remarkable engineering path through the Blue Ridge, dominated by a series of tunnels including the Bird Ridge Tunnel, Upper Pine Tunnel, and the triple sequence of the 1st Washburn, 2nd Washburn, and 3rd Washburn. This transit network supports the mountain settlements of Little Switzerland and Wildacres, while the high country is punctuated by the Woods Mountain Lookout Tower and a prominent stretch of the Blue Ridge Parkway near Gillespie Gap.

Lower elevations near the Catawba River show the industrial and social hubs of Woodlawn and Sevier, where a Quarry and Settling basins indicate local resource extraction. Genealogists will find numerous family-named landmarks and burial sites, from the Collis and Burnett cemeteries in the north to the Lemon and Washburn cemeteries further south. Local spiritual life is anchored by country churches such as Chestnut Grove Ch and Conley Memorial Ch.