Loading map...

1954 Map of Louellen

Name: 1954 Topographic Map of Louellen
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1956
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1956

About this map

Louellen and Highsplint sit at the center of this 1954 topographical study, revealing the heavy industrial footprint of the eastern Kentucky coalfields. Following the winding course of the Clover Fork, the L & N railroad connects a string of coal camps and company towns including Black Bottom, Closplint, and Clover-Darby. The landscape is dominated by the massive ridges of Pine Mountain and Black Mountain, which hem in these narrow hollows.

The map documents the social infrastructure of the era through remote mountain schools like Line Fork Sch and Huff Sch, alongside several family cemeteries such as Lewis Cem and Kelly Cem. One distinctive feature is the presence of an Abandoned Tramway and a Strip Mine on the southern slopes, marking the transition from deep-mine rail infrastructure to surface mining techniques in the mid-1950s. This survey provides a precise record of the rugged terrain before the expansion of modern road networks replaced the old mountain gaps.