1905 Map of Depew

About this map

The industrial and rail nexus of eastern Erie County is anchored by the growing rail yards of Depew and the village of Lancaster. At the turn of the century, this landscape was defined by an incredible density of competing railroad lines, including the Lehigh Valley RR, the Erie RR, and the New York Central and Hudson River RR. These steel corridors carved through the drainage basins of Cayuga Creek and Ellicott Creek, connecting smaller outposts like Bowmansville, Grimesville, and the interestingly named Looneyville. To the north and east, the map reveals a more agrarian character in Clarence and Newstead, where hamlets like Williamsville and Harris Hill were established long before the suburban expansion of Buffalo reached these limits. The map preserves the specific locations of rural stations such as West Alden Sta. and Town Line Sta. that once served these farming communities.