1958 Map of Saltville

About this map

Industrial activity and topographic extremes define this corner of Southwest Virginia, where the North Fork Holston River winds past the company-driven landscape of Saltville. The influence of the Olin Mathieson Chemical Corp RR and the Norfolk and Western railway lines points to the era's salt-processing economy, anchored by numerous salt wells and the expansive Settling Pond near Allison Gap. Northward, the terrain shifts abruptly into the high ridges of Clinch Mountain and Brushy Mountain, where the land is largely held within the Jefferson National Forest. For genealogists, the map is remarkably dense with family-named burial sites, such as the Mutter, Vencil, and Repass cemeteries, alongside rural congregations like New Bethel Ch. Small settlements like Belfast and Henrytown sit nestled along the valley floors, connected by a network of early roads and creek crossings.