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1968 Map of Rockwood

Name: 1968 Topographic Map of Rockwood
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1972
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1972

About this map

The Casselman River winds through the heart of Somerset County, where the industrial presence of the Baltimore and Ohio and Western Maryland railroads defines the corridor. Centered on the borough of Rockwood, the 1968 landscape is a mosaic of coal extraction and rural community life, marked by numerous strip mines that dot the hillsides of Milford and Black townships. This map captures the region’s evolution from timber and transit to a diversified economy, evidenced by the infrastructure at Rockwood Station and the developed recreation at Laurel Hill State Park.

Genealogists and local historians can locate early religious and social centers like Laurel Mt Chapel, Mt Union Ch, and the Pleasant Hill Cem. The interplay between the rugged terrain of Laurel Hill and the established settlements of New Centerville and New Lexington illustrates how topography dictated the placement of early mountain roads and the subsequent expansion of the local rail network along Middle Creek.