1971 Map of Richardson

About this map

The Chesapeake and Ohio railway corridor dictates the rhythm of the Levisa Fork valley in this 1970s landscape, connecting the coal-rich communities of Richardson and Whitehouse. The map reveals an area where small-scale agriculture and early extraction coexist, documented by numerous Strip Mines and Gas Wells that dot the intricate ridges including Hickman Ridge. Local life is anchored by a dense network of country churches and schools, such as Borders Chapel, Mt Zion Ch, and the Meade Sch, serving families in outlying settlements like Lowmansville and Ulysses. The rugged drainage of Blaine Creek and the Levisa Fork defined the primary transportation routes before modern highway expansion, preserving a specific spatial arrangement of family-named hollows and cemeteries that are essential for regional genealogy and topographical history.