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1899 Map of Westfield

Name: 1899 Topographic Map of Westfield
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1945
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1945

About this map

Lake Erie defines the northern edge of this Chautauqua County landscape, where the narrow coastal plain transitions into the steep ridges of the Allegheny Plateau. The economic life of the late nineteenth century is clearly mapped through the dense concentration of infrastructure along the shoreline. Multiple rail lines, including the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern R. R. and the New York Chicago and St Louis R. R., run parallel to the coast, serving the vital transport corridor between Buffalo and points west.

Settlement centers like Westfield and the port at Barcelona sit near the mouth of Chautauqua Creek, while the interior shows a more rural character with dispersed hamlets such as Volusia and Lombard. Geologic features like the deep incision of The Gulf and the headwaters of Little Inlet near Mayville highlight the dramatic topography that challenged early road and rail builders moving away from the lakefront.