Rand McNally Standard Map of West Virginia, published in 1930 by Rand McNally and Company, presents the Mountain State with the firm clarity that made the firm America’s preeminent cartographic house. Set within the company’s pocket tourist guide, it captures West Virginia on the cusp of modern mobility: an industrial landscape still ruled by rail even as air travel beckoned on the horizon. The entire state is rendered in careful county delineation, the bold state outline tightening around a terrain of steep hollows and river-cut valleys. Major cities—Charleston, Huntington, Wheeling, Parkersburg, Morgantown, Fairmont, Beckley, Clarksburg, and Weirton—are prominently marked, their names cross-referenced in an index to principal cities neatly arrayed along the right margin. The result is an authoritative, traveler-ready portrait of place and movement.

Rand McNally’s design discipline shows in every stroke. Relief is modeled with crisp hachures that cast the Allegheny ridges and Appalachian Plateau into tactile light and shadow, guiding the eye along watersheds and divides. County boundaries are distinguished with clean tints and hairline demarcations, while a restrained, legible typography carries town names, rivers, and ranges without clutter. Organization is paramount: an index to principal cities speeds consultation, and, in a distinct font and color, a separately listed roster of West Virginia railroads underscores the map’s transportation emphasis. The composition balances information density with navigational clarity, a hallmark of the firm’s early twentieth-century standards—functional but handsome, modern in spirit, and never losing sight of the geographic character that underpins human movement.

Transportation structure is the map’s living thread. Railroads ribbon across the state, their coursing lines tracing valleys and passes from the Ohio River to the Eastern Panhandle. The Baltimore & Ohio, Chesapeake & Ohio, Norfolk & Western, Virginian, and Western Maryland anchor a network that connected coalfields to steel mills and river ports. Charleston, the capital, reads as a pivotal junction on the Kanawha; Huntington and Wheeling clasp the Ohio with mercantile confidence; Parkersburg sits astride river and rail; Morgantown, Fairmont, Clarksburg, and Beckley form interior nodes of industry and trade; Weirton crowns the northern panhandle. Electric lines—those interurban and traction routes of the day—prick the map with modern ambition, extending mobility into smaller towns and mining valleys otherwise isolated by terrain.

Physical geography shapes every decision, and the map makes that visible. The Ohio River draws a sinuous western boundary lined with river towns; the Monongahela gathers in the north; the Potomac seams the far east. Through the center, the New–Gauley–Kanawha system cleaves a corridor from high plateau to lowland, a pathway matched by steel. Hachures reveal the lift and fall of the Allegheny Front and the tight folds of the southern coalfields, explaining why lines bend, switchback, and tunnel to hold grade. Place-names fasten to ridges and forks—visual cues for travelers and historians tracing settlement and industry across hollows and benches. Read closely, the sheet becomes a relief model: an essay in how mountains dictate towns, roads, and, above all, rails.

Behind this clarity stands Rand McNally, the dominant American map publisher of the era, whose atlases, road guides, and railroad charts taught a nation to navigate. In 1930 the firm synthesized information with unusual efficiency: indexes that resolve swiftly to a place on the sheet; typographic hierarchies that communicate function; and curated railroad lists that mirror how people actually traveled. Issued as part of the company’s pocket tourist series—where trains reigned and airplanes were the thrilling newcomer—it distilled West Virginia’s political and physical realities into a tool equally useful to the traveler, the shipper, and, today, the historian. To hold its logic is to glimpse the state in motion: counties aligned, cities linked, grades conquered, and the iron pathways that powered an age.

Cities and towns on this map

• Charleston (Capital)
• Huntington
• Morgantown
• Parkersburg
• Wheeling
• Fairmont
• Beckley
• Clarksburg
• Weirton

Notable Features & Landmarks

• Detailed outlines of state and county boundaries
• Major cities and towns marked, including the state capital
• Railroads prominently displayed throughout the state
• Electric lines indicated on the map
• Relief shading to illustrate topography
• An index on the right side with principal city names
• List of railroads presented in a distinct font and color

Historical and design context

• 1930 publication by Rand McNally and Company
• Rand McNally was a leading early 20th-century cartographic publisher, noted for detailed travel guides and roadmaps
• Detailed representation of political and physical geography
• Railroad and transportation infrastructure emphasis (railroads, electric lines, and major cities)
• Served as a valuable tool for travelers and historians, reflecting early 20th-century infrastructure
• Part of a larger pocket tourist guide, illustrating prominent transportation modes of the time (planes and trains)
• Demonstrates an organized information structure (index to principal cities and a list of railroads)

Please double check the images to make sure that a specific town or place is shown on this map. You can also get in touch and ask us to check the map for you.

This map looks great at every size, but I always recommend going for a larger size if you have space. That way you can easily make out all of the details.

This map looks amazing at sizes all the way up to 70in (180cm). If you are looking for a larger map, please get in touch.

Please note: the labels on this map are hard to read if you order a map that is 16in (40cm) or smaller. The map is still very attractive, but if you would like to read the map easily, please buy a larger size.

The model in the listing images is holding the 18x24in (45x60cm) version of this map.

The fifth listing image shows an example of my map personalisation service.

If you’re looking for something slightly different, check out my collection of the best old maps to see if something else catches your eye.

Please contact me to check if a certain location, landmark or feature is shown on this map.

This would make a wonderful birthday, Christmas, Father's Day, work leaving, anniversary or housewarming gift for someone from the areas covered by this map.

This map is available as a giclée print on acid free archival matte paper, or you can buy it framed. The frame is a nice, simple black frame that suits most aesthetics. Please get in touch if you'd like a different frame colour or material. My frames are glazed with super-clear museum-grade acrylic (perspex/acrylite), which is significantly less reflective than glass, safer, and will always arrive in perfect condition.

This map is also available as a float framed canvas, sometimes known as a shadow gap framed canvas or canvas floater. The map is printed on artist's cotton canvas and then stretched over a handmade box frame. We then "float" the canvas inside a wooden frame, which is available in a range of colours (black, dark brown, oak, antique gold and white). This is a wonderful way to present a map without glazing in front. See some examples of float framed canvas maps and explore the differences between my different finishes.

For something truly unique, this map is also available in "Unique 3D", our trademarked process that dramatically transforms the map so that it has a wonderful sense of depth. We combine the original map with detailed topography and elevation data, so that mountains and the terrain really "pop". For more info and examples of 3D maps, check my Unique 3D page.

For most orders, delivery time is about 3 working days. Personalised and customised products take longer, as I have to do the personalisation and send it to you for approval, which usually takes 1 or 2 days.

Please note that very large framed orders usually take longer to make and deliver. 

If you need your order to arrive by a certain date, please contact me before you order so that we can find the best way of making sure you get your order in time.

I print and frame maps and artwork in 23 countries around the world. This means your order will be made locally, which cuts down on delivery time and ensures that it won't be damaged during delivery. You'll never pay customs or import duty, and we'll put less CO2 into the air.

All of my maps and art prints are well packaged and sent in a rugged tube if unframed, or surrounded by foam if framed.

I try to send out all orders within 1 or 2 days of receiving your order, though some products (like face masks, mugs and tote bags) can take longer to make.

If you select Express Delivery at checkout your order we will prioritise your order and send it out by 1-day courier (Fedex, DHL, UPS, Parcelforce).

Next Day delivery is also available in some countries (US, UK, Singapore, UAE) but please try to order early in the day so that we can get it sent out on time.

Read my full delivery and local production guide

My standard frame is a gallery style black ash hardwood frame. It is simple and quite modern looking. My standard frame is around 20mm (0.8in) wide.

I use super-clear acrylic (perspex/acrylite) for the frame glass. It's lighter and safer than glass - and it looks better, as the reflectivity is lower.

Six standard frame colours are available for free (black, dark brown, dark grey, oak, white and antique gold). Custom framing and mounting/matting is available if you're looking for something else.

Most maps, art and illustrations are also available as a framed canvas. We use matte (not shiny) cotton canvas, stretch it over a sustainably sourced box wood frame, and then 'float' the piece within a wood frame. The end result is quite beautiful, and there's no glazing to get in the way.

All frames are provided "ready to hang", with either a string or brackets on the back. Very large frames will have heavy duty hanging plates and/or a mounting baton. If you have any questions, please get in touch.

See some examples of my framed maps and framed canvas maps.

Alternatively, I can also supply old maps and artwork on canvas, foam board, cotton rag and other materials.

If you want to frame your map or artwork yourself, please read my size guide first.

My maps are extremely high quality reproductions of original maps.

I source original, rare maps from libraries, auction houses and private collections around the world, restore them at my London workshop, and then use specialist giclée inks and printers to create beautiful maps that look even better than the original.

My maps are printed on acid-free archival matte (not glossy) paper that feels very high quality and almost like card. In technical terms the paper weight/thickness is 10mil/200gsm. It's perfect for framing.

I print with Epson ultrachrome giclée UV fade resistant pigment inks - some of the best inks you can find.

I can also make maps on canvas, cotton rag and other exotic materials.

Learn more about The Unique Maps Co.

Map personalisation

If you're looking for the perfect anniversary or housewarming gift, I can personalise your map to make it truly unique. For example, I can add a short message, or highlight an important location, or add your family's coat of arms.

The options are almost infinite. Please see my map personalisation page for some wonderful examples of what's possible.

To order a personalised map, select "personalise your map" before adding it to your basket.

Get in touch if you're looking for more complex customisations and personalisations.

Map ageing

I have been asked hundreds of times over the years by customers if they could buy a map that looks even older.

Well, now you can, by selecting Aged before you add a map to your basket.

All the product photos you see on this page show the map in its Original form. This is what the map looks like today.

If you select Aged, I will age your map by hand, using a special and unique process developed through years of studying old maps, talking to researchers to understand the chemistry of aging paper, and of course... lots of practice!

If you're unsure, stick to the Original colour of the map. If you want something a bit darker and older looking, go for Aged.

See some amazing examples of Aged maps.

If you are not happy with your order for any reason, contact me and I'll get it fixed ASAP, free of charge. Please see my returns and refund policy for more information.

I am very confident you will like your restored map or art print. I have been doing this since 1984. I'm a 5-star Etsy seller. I have sold tens of thousands of maps and art prints and have over 5,000 real 5-star reviews. My work has been featured in interior design magazines, on the BBC, and on the walls of dozens of 5-star hotels.

I use a unique process to restore maps and artwork that is massively time consuming and labour intensive. Hunting down the original maps and illustrations can take months. I use state of the art and eye-wateringly expensive technology to scan and restore them. As a result, I guarantee my maps and art prints are a cut above the rest. I stand by my products and will always make sure you're 100% happy with what you receive.

Almost all of my maps and art prints look amazing at large sizes (200cm, 6.5ft+) and I can frame and deliver them to you as well, via special oversized courier. Contact me to discuss your specific needs.