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2019 Map of Wear Cove

Name: 2019 Topographic Map of Wear Cove
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 2019
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 2019

About this map

Great Smoky Mountains National Park dominates the southern half of this landscape, where the Little River carves through deep gaps and over landmarks like The Sinks. The boundary between Blount and Sevier counties runs through the heart of Wear Valley, a broad cove that has long served as a corridor for settlement beneath the peaks of Benson Mtn and Little Rocky. The map captures a transition from the agricultural lowlands of Tuckaleechee Cove near Townsend to the high mountain ridges of Lumber Ridge and Meigs Mtn.

Genealogists and local researchers will find a dense concentration of burial sites and old meeting houses, including Headrick Chapel Cem and the Tuckaleechee Primitive Baptist Church Cem. Historic settlement patterns are visible at Park Settlement, Hatchertown, and Metcalf Bottoms, connected by family-named routes such as McGill Rd and Tarwater Ln. Along the streams, names like Pounding Mill Br hint at the area's former timber and milling economy before the park's establishment.