Loading map...

1891 Map of Romney

Name: 1891 Topographic Map of Romney
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1900
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1900

About this map

Romney sits at the heart of this late 19th-century landscape, where the South Branch Potomac River carves a deep valley between Mill Creek Mountain and South Branch Mountain. This reconnaissance survey, conducted in the 1880s, highlights a rural economy driven by water-powered industry and rail transport. Features such as Adams Mill, North River Mills, and Mill Brook illustrate the community's reliance on local waterways like the North River and Patterson Creek.

In the southeast, the Capon Iron Works stands as a notable industrial landmark near the West Virginia Virginia Boundary Line. The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad follows the northern river bends through Keyser and Springfield, providing the essential link for moving goods and people across the ridges of Hampshire and Hardy counties. Small, established settlements like Purgitsville and Slanesville are connected by a network of primitive roads that navigate the complex drainage patterns of the Cacapon River basin.