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1932 Map of Narrows

Name: 1932 Topographic Map of Narrows
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1963
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1963

About this map

New River dominates this landscape as it carves through the Appalachian ridges at The Narrows, where the Virginian and Norfolk and Western railroads follow the water gap. The geography here is defined by industrial and community points along the river and rail corridors, from the Hales Gap Tunnel to the rural Mercers Saltworks.

Upland life in the 1930s is mapped through a dense network of one-room schoolhouses like Scratchgravel School and Panther Branch School, and family-named ridges such as Hackett Ridge and Simmers Ridge. The map documents established communities like Peterstown and Glenlyn, alongside smaller hubs like Wills Sta Willowton PO, providing a clear view of the mountain economy before modern highway development changed the local settlement patterns.