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1951 Map of Tharpe

Name: 1951 Topographic Map of Tharpe
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1953
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1953

About this map

The Cumberland River carves the eastern edge of this Stewart County landscape, where deep hollows like Crutcher Hollow and Fox Hollow dictate the pattern of rural settlement. In the early 1950s, the community of Tharpe serves as a central point for the surrounding farmsteads, anchored by the Tharpe Ch and the Tharpe settlement itself. Further north, the village of Neville sits near the headwaters of Neville Creek, illustrating the historical reliance on local water sources and valley floors for habitation.

Genealogists will find a high density of family burial sites and country churches throughout the hills. Numerous small cemeteries, including the Legate Cem, Keel Cem, and Wilkinson Cem, are scattered across the ridges, often adjacent to early centers of community life like St Johns Sch and Poplar Springs Ch. The intricate network of creek branches, such as Branden Spring Branch and Rayburn Creek, reveals the traditional pathways used by residents before modern road improvements altered the local geography.