1908 Map of Ravenswood

About this map

The Ohio River dominates this 1908 topographic survey, carving a massive horseshoe bend at Great Bend and passing through the dramatic Letart Falls. This river-oriented landscape, mapped just after the turn of the century, reveals a thriving network of early settlements and industrial points such as Hartford, New Haven, and Graham Station. Away from the main channel, the terrain is defined by complex drainages like Mill Creek and Sandy Creek, where rural life centered on local institutions. The distribution of numerous schoolhouses and churches, including the Hopedale School, Excelsior School, and Union Church, illustrates the density of these early hill communities before modern consolidation. Transport for the era is anchored by the K and M RR and the river commerce that linked West Virginia towns like Ravenswood to their Ohio neighbors in Meigs County.