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1960 Map of Paden City

Name: 1960 Topographic Map of Paden City
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1977
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1977

About this map

The Ohio River corridor at Paden City and Sistersville defines this 1960s landscape, where river-driven industry and upland farming meet along the Baltimore and Ohio railroad. The waterway is punctuated by significant landforms like Paden Island and Williamson Island, while the rugged West Virginia interior is marked by a network of winding ridges such as Starkey Ridge and Narrows Ridge. Extensive oil and gas development is evident across the hills, with numerous wells scattered through the drainage basins of Pursley Creek and Point Pleasant Creek.

Rural life in the mid-century is centered around small family-named landmarks and country churches. Genealogists can trace local heritage through sites like Paden Fork Chapel, Leasure Chapel, and the Smith Ridge Chapel, alongside smaller cemeteries including Stender Cem and Witten Cem. On the Ohio side, the dense woods of the Wayne National Forest border the valley, highlighting the contrast between the protected timberlands and the active resource extraction on the West Virginia banks.