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2022 Map of Rafter

Name: 2022 Topographic Map of Rafter
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 2022
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 2022

About this map

The Tellico River winds through the northwestern corner of this Monroe County landscape, which is largely defined by the protected acreage of the Cherokee National Forest. Small mountain settlements like Acorn, Tariffville, and Rafter are connected by a network of winding roads that follow the natural contours of ridges such as Huckleberry Ridge and Cane Creek Mtn. The map preserves the locations of several community landmarks, including the Missionary Baptist Church and its associated Mount Isabel Missionary Baptist Church Cem.

Transport and topography dictate the settlement patterns here, with clusters of development found in the lower elevations of Chestnut Valley and near water sources like Ballplay Cr. The presence of numerous family-named cemeteries, such as Shaw Cem and Farris Chapel Cem, alongside smaller hamlets like Whiteoak Flats and Belltown, offers significant detail for researchers tracing local genealogy and the distribution of rural communities in this part of the southern Appalachians.