2023 Map of Old Fields

About this map

Purgitsville and the agricultural valley of Old Fields anchor this pocket of West Virginia where the South Branch Potomac River carves through the ridge-and-valley landscape. This 2023 survey illustrates a rural corridor defined by high summits like Patterson Creek Mountain and Mill Creek Mountain, which hem in the settlements and river lowlands. Local history is etched into the terrain at sites such as Old Fields Church Cem and the Christian Church near the Mineral County line. The topography dictates the movement of water and people alike, with Reynolds Gap and Falling Springs Gap providing natural breaks in the massive stone walls of River Ridge and Sawmill Ridge. Geologists and researchers can trace the course of Welton Spring and McNeil Spring as they feed into the complex drainage network of the Potomac.