1924 Map of Mc Dowell

About this map

Jack Mountain and the high ridges of the Shenandoah Mountain range dominate this 1920s topography, where the border between West Virginia and Virginia follows the rugged height of the land. Deep in these mountains, a rural social infrastructure of one-room schools and country churches is clearly mapped. Settlements like Palo Alto appear as small clusters of structures at the edge of the Shenandoah National Forest. Notable for genealogists, the map identifies specific community landmarks such as St Paul Church, Wilfong Church, and Crummet Church, alongside numerous mountain schools like Laurel Hill School and Lone Oak School. The landscape is defined by the complex drainage of the South Fork, fed by numerous runs and creeks including Blackthorn Creek and Whitethorn Creek which carve narrow valleys between the parallel ridges of Thorn Mountain and Stone Mountain.