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2011 Map of Sams Gap

Name: 2011 Topographic Map of Sams Gap
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 2011
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 2011

About this map

Rice Bend and the surrounding high ridges of the Bald Mountains define this pocket of the Blue Ridge along the North Carolina and Tennessee border. The landscape is marked by a network of family-named cemeteries and small rural congregations, including Ebb Chapel and Shook Chapel, which served the dispersed communities of Jackson Flats, English, and Faust. This geography reflects a long-standing pattern of settlement tucked into narrow valleys and gaps, where life centered on the forks of Big Laurel Creek and Puncheon Fork.

Transportation through this difficult terrain is anchored by the crossing at Sams Gap, a vital passage through the mountains. Numerous named ridges like New Camp Ridge and Grapevine Ridge hem in the many branches and forks that feed the local watershed. For genealogists, the map is particularly rich with burial sites such as the Blankenship Cemetery, Robinson Cemetery, and Shelton Cemetery, pinpointing family clusters in these mountain coves.