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1936 Map of Wear Cove

Name: 1936 Topographic Map of Wear Cove
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1936
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1936

About this map

Tuckaleechee Cove and Wear Cove dominate this mid-1930s landscape, captured just as the boundary for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park was being established across the southern ridges. The settlement pattern follows the valley floors, with small communities like Townsend and Hatchertown connected by State Hy No 73 and a local Railroad. The map reveals a deeply rooted social geography, evidenced by the numerous small churches and schools serving the coves, including Coker Hill Sch, Wearwood Sch, and Headrick Chapel.

High points such as Bates Mountain and Rocky Mountain separate the coves, punctuated by local gaps like Spicy Gap and Graveyard Gap. The intricate network of small waterways, such as Happy Hollow Creek and Wildcat Prong, illustrates the complex drainage of the mountains into the Little River. For the researcher, the specific locations of family-named cemeteries like Myers Cem and Mattox Cem offer clear evidence of the kinship ties that defined these mountain communities before significant 20th-century shifts.