1981 Map of Merchants Millpond

About this map

Merchants Millpond State Park anchors this coastal plain landscape in Gates County, where the sprawling waters of Merchants Millpond meet the slow-moving Bennetts Creek. The 1981 survey documents a rural environment defined by vast wetlands and small, crossroads settlements like Easons Crossroads and Silver Springs. Cultural landmarks of the era include the Chesapeake Lookout Tower and a local Prison Camp, while the educational landscape is marked by the County High Sch and Central Jr High Sch. Genealogists will find a high density of rural houses of worship and burial grounds, including New Pine Grove Ch, Middle Swamp Ch, and several unnamed cemeteries scattered along the perimeter of Lassiter Swamp Creek. The mapping also provides detail on the region's infrastructure, showing the alignment of Highway 158 and the network of fence and field lines that defined private land use in the late 1970s.