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1897 Map of Tazewell

Name: 1897 Topographic Map of Tazewell
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1932
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1932

About this map

Tazewell and the industrial corridors of the Norfolk and Western RR anchor this late-nineteenth-century survey of the Appalachian Highlands. The landscape is defined by the winding course of the Tug River and the high ridges of Indian Ridge, where a network of small coal and rail settlements like Welch, Norwood, and Vivian began to take shape. Further south, the valley floors support agricultural and milling hubs, including Richlands, Cedar Bluff, and the riverside site of Shock Mills.

Topographer Hersey Munroe recorded a complex terrain of gaps and knobs, from the Gap of Sandy to the prominent Peak. Notable for genealogists is the clear distinction between Old Peeryville and its newer namesake, alongside several small valley communities such as Baptist Valley and Maxwell. The map captures the region just as the expansion of the railroad was beginning to transform these isolated mountain hollows into centers of industry and commerce.