1853 Map of Caroline

This map from 1853 shows roads many historical details about Caroline, including  railroad lines, house locations, property owner's names, numbered schools, creeks, and other details. Lighter lines give an impression of topography.

The boundaries of the town are squared off in the northern part of the town, and the town now extends quite a bit further north, and juts out both to the northeast and northwest, compared to 1853. The southern and most of the eastern border seem to be the same as presently, bordered by what is now called the West Branch of Oswego Creek to the east and with the distinctive saw-tooth shape to the south.

The map shows thickly settled Slaterville (not Slaterville Springs yet). Motts Corners (now the village of Brooktondale) also has a cluster of residents and businesses, including several businesses (mills, a store, a smith shop). A gun factory and a brick yard line down the road a bit toward Ithaca. Caroline Center shows an even denser group of residents and businesses, including a hotel and a store and smith shop. Speedsville, at the southeast corner of town, also is well-settled; most names are hard to read, but there is at least a store and a hotel in addition to resident names. The only railroad through town at this time is the Cayuga Susquehanna, which runs on what now is what likely will become the rail trail that becomes South Recreation Way in Ithaca. In Shindagin Hollow Forest, the area between Brearley (now spelled Braley) Hill Rd and Shindagin Hollow Rd is marked as someone's Hunting Ground (hard to read the name), and includes a detailed drawing of a hunter who appears, perhaps, to be hunting game birds.

Bill Hecht scanned these images of Caroline from a much larger Tompkins County map. After opening each map, clicking the image zooms in while maintaining legibility. To scroll around the map after zooming, use the scroll bars in your browser. There has been some recent instability in the host site that may make the link temporarily unavailable. Consult the Index of Bill Hecht's Scanned Images for Tompkins County for more details and any updates.