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1948 Map of Tonawanda

Name: 1948 Topographic Map of Tonawanda
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1953
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1953

About this map

North Tonawanda and its industrial neighbor across the Niagara River Tonawanda Channel, Tonawanda Island, anchor the southern end of this 1948 topographic study. The landscape is defined by the sharp drop of the Mountain Ridge, which separates the lowland settlements of Sanborn and Pekin from the agricultural plains to the north. This escarpment creates a dramatic transition between the plateau and the surrounding fruit-growing region, where numerous rural schoolhouses like School No 7 and School No 10 served scattered farmsteads before postwar consolidation.

Transport networks are dense, featuring the Erie Canal winding toward the river and a web of rail lines including the New York Central RR and Erie RR. To the west, the Tuscarora Indian Reservation remains a significant geographic block, while the planned industrial hub of Model City stands as a testament to early 20th-century development ambitions. Local history is deeply etched into the map through family-named junctions like Molyneaux Corners and Streeters Corners, and various spiritual sites such as St Peters Ch and the White Chapel Memorial Cemetery.