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1937 Map of Smethport

Name: 1937 Topographic Map of Smethport
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1948
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1948

About this map

The Allegheny River and Potato Creek carve through the deep hollows of McKean County in this 1930s topographical study. The landscape is defined by its industrial and transport corridors, notably the Pittsburgh Shawmut and Northern RR and the Coudersport & Port Allegany RR, which linked these narrow valleys to broader markets. High points like Looker Mountain and The Nipple overlook a network of small settlements and educational outposts such as Bush Hill Sch and Annin Creek Sch.

Tracing the tributary system reveals a pattern of rural life clustered near water and rail, with Smethport and Port Allegany serving as significant hubs. Numerous family-named landmarks, such as Barden Brook and Stickles Hol, provide invaluable data for genealogists and local historians looking to place ancestral homesteads within the specific drainage basins and mountain gaps of northern Pennsylvania near the New York border.