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1958 Map of Sissonville

Name: 1958 Topographic Map of Sissonville
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1959
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1959

About this map

The Pocatalico River winds through this 1958 topographic landscape, defining the character of northern Kanawha County at a time when the region was a dense network of hollows and ridges. Small rural communities like Sissonville and Goldtown serve as focal points for a scattered population connected by winding roads and numerous family-named landmarks. The map reveals a deeply social landscape, with civic life anchored by institutions such as the Point Harmony Sch, Betty L Sch, and several houses of worship including Allens Chapel, Bonham Chapel, and Oak Grove Ch.

The complex terrain is meticulously labeled, featuring named ridges like Sandhill Ridge and Hogpen Ridge alongside dozens of hollows like Bumgardner Hollow and Wilkinson Hollow. For the local historian or genealogist, the map's level of detail provides an invaluable record of mid-century West Virginia, noting individual structures, schools like Sugar Grove Sch, and burial grounds including Rock Spring Cem and Fisher Cem. This survey illustrates how the ridge-and-valley topography dictated settlement patterns, with homes and farms primarily clustered along the banks of the Pocatalico and its many tributaries.