1898 Map of Olean

About this map

The Allegheny River valley serves as the industrial and transit corridor for this late 19th-century landscape, dominated by the emerging hub of Olean. The map captures the city's complex rail network at the junction of the Erie R. R. and the Western New York and Penna. R. R., while the presence of Oil Tanks south of the river reflects the region's significant role in the early petroleum industry. Surrounding the valley, the terrain is marked by steep ridges and narrow hollows like Fay Hollow and Woodchuck Hollow, directing settlement toward the creek bottoms. To the north, the Oil Spring Indian Reservation sits near the Reservoir and the town of Cuba. This survey documents a transitional economy where timber and tanning were giving way to heavier rail-based commerce, visible in the density of specialized trackage like the Narrow Gauge Div. near the southern border.