1949 Map of Ithaca West

About this map

Cayuga Lake defines the eastern edge of this 1949 topographic survey, where the city of Ithaca is squeezed between the water and the steep rises of the southern Tier. The landscape is characterized by its dramatic gorges and glens, notably the Robert H Treman State Park and Buttermilk Falls State Park, where the Robert H Treman Creek and Buttermilk Falls cut through the terrain. The map records a mix of institutional and civic development, featuring the Biggs Memorial Hospital, the I O O F Orphanage, and two airfields—Sun Downs Airport and the Ithaca Municipal Airport. This period shows the region's transport network at a peak, with the Lehigh Valley and Delaware Lackawanna and Western railroads skirting the marshy Cayuga Inlet. Inland, the plateau is marked by older agricultural hamlets like Quaker Settlement and Applegate Corner.