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1965 Map of Hamden

Name: 1965 Topographic Map of Hamden
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1988
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1988

About this map

The West Branch Delaware River carves a deep valley through this portion of Delaware County, defining the early settlements and transport corridors of the region. The riverside hamlets of Hamden, De Lancey, and Fraser are connected by the former route of the New York Ontario and Western RR, illustrating the valley's reliance on rail-and-water geography. A notable Covered Bridge spans the river near Hamden, serving as a rare survivor of nineteenth-century engineering amidst a landscape of steep hollows and ridges.

The surrounding hills, such as Scotch Mountain and Prospect Hill, are crisscrossed by named hollows that likely denote early family landholdings, including Gregory Hollow, Telford Hollow, and Stoddard Hollow. The presence of several quarries and gravel pits, alongside more modern developments like a Radio Facility and the Old Landing Strip Road, shows the slow shift from a purely agrarian and timber-based economy toward specialized infrastructure and state-managed lands like the Murphy Hill State Forest.