1953 Map of Beaver Dams

About this map

Watkins Glen State Park anchors the northeast corner of this 1953 survey, where the dramatic terrain of Watkins Glen meets the industrial corridor of the New York Central Railroad. The landscape is a mix of steep ravines and upland farming communities, with the railroad cutting a north-south path through the center of the sheet, serving the settlement of Beaver Dams. Further south, the map details the rural character of Chemung and Steuben Counties, featuring numerous family-scale landmarks and local institutions that defined mid-century life in this region of the Finger Lakes.