Collection inventory

Special Collections home page

Lyall Squair Collection of Onondaga County Maps

An inventory of the collection at Syracuse University


Finding aid created by: MRC
Date: 9 Mar 2017

Biographical History

Syracuse is a city in Onondaga County, New York. Onondaga Lake, which today is in the center of the city, was considered sacred to the Onondaga Nation. The area was first visited by Europeans (French missionaries) in the 1600s and settlement began in earnest in the mid-1800s. Salt was an important industry in the region, and the city's placement on the Erie Canal made it a transportation hub for the area. There were numerous local and regional railways, including the Syracuse & Onondaga, Syracuse & Binghamton, Syracuse, Chenango & New York, and the Syracuse & Oneida Lake Electric Railway Company.

Oneida Lake is the largest lake entirely within New York State. It is located northeast of the city of Syracuse and feeds the Oneida River, which flows into the Oswego River, which in turn flows into Lake Ontario. Until the opening of the Erie Canal in 1825, the lake was part of an important waterway connecting the Atlantic seaboard of North America to the continental interior. The lake contains several islands, including Frenchman's Island and Dunham's Island.

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The Lyall Squair Collection of Onondaga County Maps contains maps of various areas around Syracuse and Oneida Lake in Central New York. The maps are cyanotype, mounted on heavy board. Most are undated. Some show actual or proposed railway lines. Map numbers and titles given in the inventory below are exactly as they appear on the maps themselves.

Arrangement of the Collection

By map number.

Restrictions

Access Restrictions:

The majority of our archival and manuscript collections are housed offsite and require advanced notice for retrieval. Researchers are encouraged to contact us in advance concerning the collection material they wish to access for their research.

Use Restrictions:

Written permission must be obtained from SCRC and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.

Subject Headings

Corporate Bodies

Syracuse & Oneida Lake Electric Railway Company.

Subjects

Electric railroads -- New York (State)
Railroads -- New York (State)

Places

Oneida Lake (N.Y.) -- Maps.
Syracuse (N.Y.) -- Maps.

Genres and Forms

Maps (documents)

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

Lyall Squair Collection of Onondaga County Maps,
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

Gift of Lyall Squair, 1994.

Table of Contents

Maps

Inventory