1976 Map of Pennsboro

About this map

Pennsboro and Greenwood anchor this 1976 orthophotograph, which provides a detailed aerial perspective of the Ritchie County landscape before the close of the 1970s. The image captures the dense, wooded ridges and narrow valleys typical of this part of West Virginia, centered around the winding course of the North Fork Hughes River. Unlike traditional line-and-tint topographic maps, this rectified photo imagery, produced in cooperation with the Soil Conservation Service, reveals the exact distribution of clearings, forested hillsides, and the specific footprint of these small Appalachian communities. The layout of streets and building clusters in the valley floors contrast sharply with the complex drainage patterns of the surrounding uplands, offering a precise visual record of land use and transportation corridors as they existed during this era.