1939 Map of White Rock

About this map

Shelton Laurel Creek and Big Laurel Creek define the drainage of this Madison County terrain, where mountain communities such as White Rock and Guntertown were established along narrow valley floors. The landscape reflects a deeply dissected plateau within the Pisgah National Forest, characterized by high peaks like Sugarloaf Mountain and Franklin Mtn. Local life in the late 1930s was anchored by scattered rural institutions, including the Rice Sch and churches like Chestnut Hill Ch and Big Laurel Ch. Small family settlements like Cutshalltown and Rice Mill appear alongside numerous namesake burial grounds, such as Shelton Cem and Gosnell Cem, documenting the genealogical history of these hollows. This 1939 survey, with revisions from the 1970s, preserves the early road network and foot trails that linked remote mountain farms before major modern development reached this part of the Blue Ridge.