1969 Map of Longdale Furnace

About this map

The Longdale Furnace settlement and industrial site sit at the heart of this Alleghany County landscape, where the valley floor meets the slopes of Brushy Mountain and Milly Mountain. This late-1960s survey documents a region defined by its rail history and narrow mountain gaps, with the Chesapeake and Ohio railroad corridor tracing the Cowpasture River and passing through Colemans Tunnel near Griffith. Small communities like Nicelytown and several country churches, including Lone Star Ch and Sharon Ch, are distributed along the winding valley roads. The map captures a moment of transition for the local infrastructure, showing a Proposed Location for new highway development cutting through the George Washington National Forest. From the quiet waters of Blue Suck Br to the higher elevations of North Mountain, the terrain illustrates the steep ridge-and-valley topography of the Virginia highlands.