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1953 Map of Walden Creek

Name: 1953 Topographic Map of Walden Creek
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1975
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1975

About this map

The Chilhowee Mountain and Slate Knobs terrain dominates this 1953 survey of the Tennessee borderlands, where the Sevier and Blount lines meet. The landscape is defined by its educational and spiritual centers, featuring the prominent Harrison Chilhowee Academy in the northwest and a network of rural schoolhouses like Dripping Springs School and Benson School.

Settlement patterns follow the gaps and hollows, with the Chapman Highway cutting through the northern knobs toward Cusick. Deeper into the ridges, family landmarks and small communities like DuPont and Walden Creek are anchored by local institutions, including the Laurel Grove Church and Antioch Church. The map meticulously records the complex drainage system of the Great Smoky Mountains foothills, from the winding Boyds Creek to the numerous springs like Doyle Springs and Bogle Spring that supported these high-country homesteads.