Loading map...

1950 Map of Westernport

Name: 1950 Topographic Map of Westernport
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1970
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1970

About this map

Potomac River industry and coal-country topography dominate this 1950s survey of the borderlands between Maryland and West Virginia. The river corridor is a dense concentration of settlement and rail infrastructure, centered on the mill town of Luke and the adjacent transport hubs of Westernport and Piedmont. Multiple rail lines, including the Western Maryland and the Baltimore and Ohio, trace the river's winding path through the gap between Franklin Hill and Hampshire Hill.

Beyond the industrial river valley, the landscape shifts to the dramatic elevations of the Allegheny Front and Backbone Mountain. Local history and genealogy are preserved in the rural hollows, featuring sites like Cross School, Tichnell Cem, and Sinkler Cem. The prevalence of Strip Mine operations across the ridges of Piedmont Front illustrates the extractive economy of the era, while the remote Seldom Seen Road and State Forest land suggest the isolation found just away from the busy rail junctions.