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1957 Map of Toms Creek

Name: 1957 Topographic Map of Toms Creek
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1960
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1960

About this map

The town of Coeburn serves as a central hub for this coal-country landscape during the late 1950s, where the Norfolk and Western and Clinchfield railroads dominate the valleys. The map illustrates a complex industrial environment defined by numerous strip mines and mine dumps that dot the ridges of Sandy Ridge and Guest Mountain. This era captures a transition in transportation as the early stages of Interstate 58 appear alongside established coal camps like Toms Creek and Banner.

Genealogists will find a dense concentration of family burial grounds, such as Stallard Cem and McReynolds Cem, reflecting generations of settlement in the hollows. Distinctive engineering features like the Swede Tunnel and Little Toms Tunnel mark the difficult passage of rail through the Appalachian terrain. To the south, the landscape shifts toward the Jefferson National Forest and the winding course of the Clinch River, where the terrain remains largely undeveloped except for landmarks like the Bull Hill Lookout Tower.