Loading map...

1918 Map of Prestonsburg

Name: 1918 Topographic Map of Prestonsburg
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1918
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1918

About this map

The Levisa Fork serves as the primary artery for commerce and transit through Floyd County during this early 20th-century period, with the Chesapeake and Ohio railroad tracking its winding course. The county seat at Prestonsburg sits as the central hub of a landscape defined by an intricate network of narrow valleys and ridges. This survey illustrates a rural economy transitioning into a more formal postal and rail infrastructure, evidenced by combined locations like Maytown Langley PO and Dinwood Alphoretta PO.

Deep in the hinterlands where Magoffin and Floyd counties meet, small communities such as Ivyton and Riceville anchor the upper reaches of the Licking River. The presence of the Big Lick School and scattered settlements like Bonanza and Goodloe suggest a decentralized pattern of life where creek-side gaps provided the only level ground for homesteads and civic institutions. The map also records early coal-related sites like Cliff and Auxier, marking the early industrialization of the region's river valleys.