1960 Map of Rinard Mills

About this map

The Little Muskingum River carves a winding path through this corner of the Wayne National Forest, defining a landscape of sharp ridges and narrow hollows. In the early 1960s, the area remained a patchwork of small agricultural settlements and timbered slopes, centered around crossroads like Rinard Mills and Bloomfield. The map reveals a high concentration of community landmarks, including the Muskingum Valley Ch and Point Pleasant Ch, which anchored the social life of rural families in the Ludlow and Independence townships. Transportation at this time relied on a network of ridge-top roads such as Beardmore Road and Wingett Road. This survey captures the transition of the region as it maintained its traditional rural character while the extraction industry began to dot the hillsides with numerous gas wells, a detail of significant value for those researching the industrial and genealogical history of Washington and Monroe counties.