1957 Map of Mecca

About this map

Starr Mountain dominates this landscape along the border of McMinn and Monroe counties, anchoring a region defined by the wooded expanse of the Cherokee National Forest. In the late 1950s, the rural community of Mecca and the settlement at Rural Vale served as focal points for local life, evidenced by a network of country churches including Wesley Chapel and Rural Vale Ch. The terrain transitions from the high ridges of Chestnut Mountain and Hogback Ridge into deep drainages like Bullet Creek, where the Bullet Creek Falls are located. Genealogists will find significant value in the distribution of family and community burial sites, from the Lick Creek Cem in the north to the Hamby Cem further south. The map also records the site of a Lookout tower on a prominent ridge, a critical piece of infrastructure for the Cherokee Wildlife Management Area.