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1961 Map of Natural Dam

Name: 1961 Topographic Map of Natural Dam
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1964
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1964

About this map

The Oswegatchie River winds through this 1961 landscape, defining the character of the borderlands between St Lawrence and Jefferson counties. Small, established hamlets like Oxbow, Somerville, and Wegatchie are connected by a network of rural roads such as Scotch Settlement Road and Caledonia Road, reflecting a long history of local commerce and settlement. The New York Central railroad cuts through the southeastern corner near Spragueville, serving the agricultural and industrial needs of the era.

In the north, the elongated Yellow Lake dominates the terrain of Rossie and Macomb, while the Camp Drum Military Reservation occupies a portion of the southern landscape. The map captures a moment when the rural economy relied on scattered gravel operations, marked by numerous Gravel Pits, and a distribution of small communities like Little Bow and Elmdale that remained vital hubs for the surrounding farming and dairy countryside.