1968 Map of Lorado

About this map

The coal-mining heart of the West Virginia mountains is captured here during the late 1960s, a period when the extractive industry defined the geography of the Logan and Boone County lines. The Chesapeake and Ohio railroad corridor follows Buffalo Creek through a series of company towns and industrial sites, including Lundale, Craneco, and Lorado. The landscape is characterized by its steep, narrow valleys where every available level bench is utilized for rail spurs and coal infrastructure, as seen in the numerous Mine Dump and Mine labels scattered across the ridges. Higher elevations offer a different perspective, with the Spring Mountain Lookout Tower standing over the drainage divides of Pond Fork and Huff Creek. This survey provides a precise record of the early post-war industrial landscape, tracing the complex network of creeks and coal branches that linked remote settlements like Pardee and Saunders to the wider rail network.