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1954 Map of Prestonsburg

Name: 1954 Topographic Map of Prestonsburg
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1956
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1956

About this map

The Levisa Fork cuts a winding path through this corner of Floyd County, shaping the development of Prestonsburg and its neighboring settlements. In the mid-1950s, the Chesapeake and Ohio railroad followed the river's eastern bank, serving as a vital corridor for the region's coal-driven economy. The landscape is defined by a dense network of mountain hollows and branches, where small rural communities like Bonanza and Whitaker are connected by narrow roads winding through the terrain.

Local history is preserved in the numerous named schoolhouses and churches that anchored these mountain neighborhoods. Educational landmarks such as the County High Sch, Katy Friend Sch, and Lick Fork Sch indicate the distribution of the population before significant consolidation. Farther north, the community of Auxier sits nestled in a sharp bend of the river, while sites like Horn Chapel and the Governors Cem provide specific points of interest for genealogists tracing family roots in this Appalachian heartland.