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1921 Map of Orkney Springs

Name: 1921 Topographic Map of Orkney Springs
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1921
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1921

About this map

Lost River carves a deep valley through the ridges of Hardy County in this 1921 survey, providing a narrow corridor for settlements like Lost City and Mathias. The landscape is defined by the sharp parallel ridges of Lost River Mountain and Shenandoah Mountain, where small communities supported a network of country schools including the Shoemaker School and Bowman School.

Evidence of early industrial activity appears along the Potomac in the northwest, where the Lumber RR indicates the importance of timber extraction to the local economy. The social fabric of these remote hollows is mapped through numerous family-named landmarks and rural congregations, such as Jenkins Chapel and St Johns Church. This topography illustrates how the steep terrain of South Fork Mountain and Bald Knob dictated the placement of roads and farms along tributaries like Howards Lick and Crab Run.