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1940 Map of Spring City

Name: 1940 Topographic Map of Spring City
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1954
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1954

About this map

The Cumberland Escarpment looms over the valley floor where the Southern railroad connects the communities of Spring City and Lorraine. This 1940 field examination by the Tennessee Valley Authority documents a landscape in flux, specifically highlighting blue-stippled areas designated for submersion by the Watts Bar Reservoir. This transformation of the Tennessee River corridor impacts established settlements like Rhea Springs, where the Rhea Springs Cem and local schoolhouses sit near the rising waters.

Away from the flood zone, the map records numerous rural centers of 20th-century life, including Grandview and Akeman Crossroad. Educational and spiritual hubs such as Mars Hill Sch and Friendship Ch are scattered among the ridges, while family heritage is preserved at the Petersburg Cem and Stebbins Cem. The geography is defined by parallel heights like Westring Ridge and Hampton Ridge, which channel tributaries like Piney River and Wolf Creek toward the widening reservoir.