1888 Map of Berlin

About this map

Lebanon Springs Railroad tracks follow the narrow valley floors of eastern Rensselaer County, connecting a string of small dairy and timber settlements during the late nineteenth century. This topography is defined by the steep transition from the Hudson Valley highlands toward the Taconic range at the Massachusetts border. The map illustrates a landscape of clustered hamlets and named hollows, where family-named landmarks like Mc Master Hollow, Barber Hollow, and George Allen Hollow indicate a deeply settled rural economy centered on local agriculture and small-scale water power. Numerous small upland bodies of water, such as Big Bowman Pond and Kendall Pond, feed the drainage of the Poesten Kill and Kinderhook Creek, which were vital for the early industrial development of the region. The survey also captures the precise boundary line between New York and Massachusetts, passing directly over prominent peaks like Berlin Mtn. and Mt. Misery.