1968 Map of Whitesville

About this map

Whitesville serves as the focal point for this industrial landscape where the Big Coal River and Marsh Fork meet. The 1968 topography reveal a region defined by extraction, with numerous Strip Mine operations and tipples clustered along the Chesapeake and Ohio railroad corridors. Small coal camp communities like Lindytown, Montcoal, and Blue Pennant are deeply integrated into the winding valley floors, often centered around their proximity to the rail lines and local schools such as Marsh Fork High Sch. Local family history is preserved in several small burial grounds, including Jarrells Cem and Mordue Cem, situated on the steep slopes of Cherry Pond Mountain and Kayford Mountain. This map documents the extent of land usage during a peak period of West Virginia coal production before later environmental transitions altered these narrow hollows.