Map of East TN, VA & GA Rail Road, 1880 (with spur to Elizabethton)

Image 8 of 13

// source: https://teva.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p15138coll23/id/174/

For maps before Carter County was established, look for maps that include Washington County — North Carolina, Southwest Territory, or the future Tennessee.

Many pre-Statehood maps cover a wider area.   For details of those maps, browse the TNGenWeb Project’s Maps site or the Tennessee State Library & Archives’ Tennessee Virtual Archive.

Most original maps held in the Tennessee State Library & Archives have been digitized.  Researchers can purchase hardcopies of maps from TSLA’s Manuscripts Section.

Be sure to check the holdings of the Library of Congress for early maps of the region.

Pre-impoundment maps and aerial photography for the creation of Watauga Lake are available from Tennessee Valley Authority.  Much of this material is held at the National Archives’ Atlanta Branch.