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1889 Map of Salyersville

Name: 1889 Topographic Map of Salyersville
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1949
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1949

About this map

Salyersville and Jackson anchor this late 19th-century study of the Eastern Kentucky coalfield region, a landscape defined by an incredibly dense network of narrow hollows and winding waterways. The Licking River and the North Fork Kentucky River cut through the terrain, providing the primary corridors for early settlement and commerce. This survey captures the region just before the heavy industrialization of the 20th century, showing a high concentration of small rural communities like Hazel Green, Ezel, and Rousseau.

Evidence of early trans-Appalachian routes is visible in labels such as State Road Fork, while the intricate drainage patterns of Quicksand Creek and Troublesome Creek illustrate the challenging topography that shaped local genealogy and movement. Numerous family-named settlements like Sellers, Gilmore, and Hendricks provide valuable data for researchers tracing ancestral homesteads in Breathitt, Morgan, and Magoffin counties before modern development reshaped the valley floors.