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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

The Tuscarora Indian Reservation and the industrial corridors of the Niagara River Tonawanda Channel define this mid-century portrait of Western New York. The landscape is a complex grid of rural school districts and family-named junctions, such as Molyneaux Corners and Streeters Corners, which represent the early settlement patterns of the Niagara Frontier. Heavy rail infrastructure, including the Erie RR and New York Central RR, crisscrosses the terrain, linking the growing city of Tonawanda with outlying hamlets like Sanborn and Ransomville.

Along the waterways, Cayuga Island and Buckhorn Island State Park remain largely undeveloped compared to the dense urban blocks of Tonawanda. The map also captures the expansion of aviation and defense infrastructure, noting the Niagara Falls Municipal Airport and a United States Military Reservation near Balmer Road. Numerous country churches and cemeteries, such as St Peters Ch and Mt Hope Cem, provide essential landmarks for genealogists tracing families through the townships of Porter, Wheatfield, and Cambria.