1944 Map of Cicero

About this map

Oneida Lake dominates the northern landscape of this 1940s survey, showing a coastline defined by intricate bays and recreational settlements. The Barge Canal cuts a straight line through the water, while the southern half of the quadrangle reveals the extensive Cicero Swamp, dotted with islands like Geersbeck Island and Hall Island. This era of Onondaga County history is marked by a dense network of local schoolhouses, including the Stone Arabia Sch and Cobblestone Sch, reflecting a distributed rural population before post-war consolidation. The road network, including Route 31 and the strictly rectilinear Street Road, connects agricultural hamlets like Cicero Center and Brown Corner to the growing community of North Syracuse. Inland from the lake, family-named ridges like McKinley Ridge and Beech Ridge rise above the wetlands, housing established homesteads and the Cicero Center Cem.