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1995 Map of Valley Head

Name: 1995 Topographic Map of Valley Head
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1998
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1998

About this map

Valley Head and Monterville anchor this 1990s documentation of the upper reaches of the Tygart Valley River. The landscape is defined by the high ridges of the Monongahela National Forest and Kumbrabow State Forest, where early settlement patterns follow the winding creek beds of Elkwater Fork and Mill Creek. This period shows a transition from resource extraction to managed forest land, though industrial traces like the Quarry and a Strip Mine near Mingo Mountain remain clearly marked.

Local history is preserved in small family and community landmarks, from the Stalnaker Cem north of Monterville to Friendship Ch and Oak Grove Ch along the river valley. The map details a network of 4WD tracks and forest trails, such as the Hamilton Trail and the curiously named Turkeybone Road, which navigate the steep terrain of Swecker Ridge and Dry Ridge. Small hamlets like Brady Gate and Blue Spring provide clear geographic points for genealogists tracing ancestors in this part of Randolph County.