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1940 Map of Paint Rock

Name: 1940 Topographic Map of Paint Rock
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1954
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1954

About this map

The French Broad River snakes through the borderlands of Tennessee and North Carolina in this 1940 survey, providing a vital transport corridor for the Southern railroad. The rugged terrain of Houston Mountain and Brushy Mountain isolates small communities like Paint Rock and Harmony Grove, where life centered around local landmarks such as Timber Ridge Ch and Antioch.

Evidence of early 20th-century rural infrastructure is visible in the network of mountain gaps and river crossings, including Grooms Bridge and the Upper Twin Bridge. For genealogists, the map preserves the locations of numerous family-named burial grounds, including the Mooneyham Cem, Justis Cem, and Cutshall Cem. Forest management is represented by the Cherokee National Forest and Pisgah National Forest boundaries, along with the Meadow Lookout Tower standing watch over Meadow Creek Mountain.