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1915 Map of Paintsville

Name: 1915 Topographic Map of Paintsville
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1915
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1915

About this map

Paintsville serves as the focal point of this 1915 survey, situated at the confluence of Paint Creek and the Levisa Fork of the Big Sandy River. The landscape is dominated by the intricate drainage systems of the Cumberland Plateau, where narrow hollows are home to numerous small schoolhouses, such as School No 1 and School No 10, indicating a highly localized rural education system before the era of school consolidation.

Industrial development follows the river valleys, most notably along the Chesapeake and Ohio railroad which services the burgeoning communities of Van Lear and West Van Lear. In the more isolated northern and western reaches, settlements like Flatgap, Winifred, and Redbush are connected by the State Road, while landmarks like Mizpah Church and Laurel Hill Church provided spiritual centers for the dispersed population of Johnson and Lawrence counties.