1904 Map of Roan Mountain

About this map

Elizabethton and Johnson City serve as the primary hubs of this early 20th-century mountain landscape, where the iron-and-rail economy is in full swing. The rugged boundary between Tennessee and North Carolina is defined by the massive Unaka Mountains and Roan High Bluff, crossed by primitive roads and narrow-gauge lines like the East Tennessee and Western North Carolina RR. The industrial footprint of the era is evident at the Hodge Ore Bank and along the Nolichucky River near Erwin.