1908 Map of Goshen

About this map

Middletown serves as a major rail hub at the start of the twentieth century, where the Erie R R and New York Ontario and Western RR intersect with the Middletown and Unionville Electric RR. The landscape to the south and east is defined by the massive drainage project of the Commissioners Ditch and the fertile bottomlands of the Wallkill River valley. This era reveals a transition from dense village centers like Goshen to rural farmsteads and family-named hamlets such as Mapes Corners and Michigan Corners. To the south, the peaks of Mt Adam and Mt Eve rise above the wetlands of the Quaker Creek (North Branch), providing a stark topographical contrast to the valley floor. Researchers can trace the extensive network of dairy-country branch lines, including the Erie R R (Pine Island Br) reaching into the rich mucklands near Florida.