HomeMy WebLinkAboutPlan Appendix B 08 Historical Resources
Town of Ithaca 2014 Comprehensive Plan B‐88
B.8 Historical resources
B.8.1 Historical resources survey: structures and properties
Historic resources include structures and sites
and the historic environment in which they
exist. They serve as visual reminders of
Ithaca’s past, providing a link to our cultural
heritage and a better understanding of the
people and events that shaped the town’s
development. The Town of Ithaca is
fortunate to claim a number of resources of
historical importance within its boundaries,
including buildings on the Cornell University
campus, several neighborhoods, scores of
individual residential structures, and other
important landmarks such as abandoned
railroad corridors—some that have been
converted to multi-use trails—and former
Native American settlements.
The most recent survey of historical resources
in the Town of Ithaca was conducted by the
Historic Preservation Planning Workshop at
Cornell University. The scope of this project
was limited to above-ground historic
structures, and did not include prehistoric or
historical archaeological sites. The project
was conducted over a four year period (1997-2000) and utilized guidelines and survey forms adopted by the NYS
Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation and the National Park Service. The project involved a
reconnaissance survey (“windshield survey”) to get a general picture of the distribution of types and styles of
buildings, structures, and neighborhoods representing different architectural styles and periods, followed by an
“intensive level survey” which involved in-depth archival research along with field work to document detailed
information about each historic property in the survey area. In general, structures that are a minimum of 50 years of
age are considered historic.
A total of 480 properties were surveyed as shown on Historical Resources Map. Information collected for each property
included: history of ownership, architectural description, identification of items of historic significance, additions and
alterations to the structure, a map and photograph. The following areas are represented in the survey:
86 properties in the southeast portion of Ithaca on Coddington Road, Danby Road, Mitchell Street, Hungerford
Hill Road, and Troy Road.
168 properties in the east and northeast portion of Ithaca on Slaterville Road, East Shore Drive, Warren Road,
Hanshaw Road, Renwick Place, Renwick Drive, and Renwick Heights Road.
112 properties in the southwestern portion of Ithaca on Stone Quarry Road., West King Road, Elmira Road,
Sand Bank Road, East Buttermilk Road, West Buttermilk Road, Seven Mile Drive, Enfield Falls Road, Gray
Road, Glenside Road, Coy Glen Road, and Five Mile Drive.
Former Grand Lodge of the International Order of Odd Fellows/Rebekah’s
Home, located on Trumansburg Road
Town of Ithaca 2014 Comprehensive Plan B‐89
115 properties in the northwestern portion of Ithaca on Coy Glen Road, West Haven Road, Elm Street, Five
Mile Drive, Indian Creek Road, Bostwick Road, Calkins Road, Hayts Road, Duboise Road, Bundy Road.,
Sheffield Road, and Mecklenburg Road.
Not included in the survey were a number of residences along Taughannock Boulevard where the buildings and
structures could only be studied and photographed from locations on the Lake or along shoreline. Also, the Village
of Cayuga Heights was not included in the project scope.
The Final Report for the Intensive Level Survey (September 2005) highlighted 28 “especially interesting” individual
properties (out of “scores” that were considered architecturally or historically significant) along with three clusters
(“districts”) of historic homes united by one or more themes as potentially significant. The report describes these
properties as being potentially eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. The National Register is
the official list of cultural resources of significant historic or architectural merit. Authorized under the National
Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Register is part of a national program to coordinate and support
public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect historic resources. This program is administered in
cooperation with the New York State Register of Historic Places. An owner interested in pursuing National Register
designation for their property must first work with the State Historic Preservation Officer to get it listed on the State
Register, which is required before listing on the National Register.
Currently there are four locations in the Town of Ithaca listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places.
This includes three sites and one district:
Forest Home Historic District, nominated to the State and National Registers in 1998, which encompasses 50
acres and includes 75 buildings and four structures.
Cornell University campus (within the Town), Rice and Wing Halls (part of the Agriculture Quad) listed in 1984.
Hayts Corner Chapel (Abolitionist Church) and Schoolhouse on the corner of Hayts and Trumansburg Roads
listed in 2006.
The New York State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) also maintains a broad range of information relating to
historic properties in the state. SHPO is another source of information on historic buildings, structures, and districts
and also includes information on historic sites and objects in the Town. The State Preservation Historical
Information Network Exchange (SPHINX) provides an electronic, program-wide database of SHPO records. It
identifies numerous properties in the town and provides a determination on many of them in terms of their eligibility
for listing on the National Register. In addition, in 1990, Historic Ithaca undertook an intensive level survey of
properties along Trumansburg Road/NY 96 in response to development pressure along that transportation corridor.
The National Register by itself does not provide any protection from alteration or demolition of a listed property,
though it can offer advantages in the form of certain tax provisions and incentives (i.e., grants) for preservation and
rehabilitation. The Town currently does not have a local historic preservation program. Such a program would be an
effective next step in taking the findings of the historic resource surveys and databases and establishing strategies to
protect and promote the Town’s historical resources. In 2011, the Town established a Limited Historic Commercial
Zone to encourage the retention and productive reuse of structures that have historic value. The floating zone allows
additional uses of historic properties not otherwise permitted under the base zoning. Property owners would still
need to apply for the rezoning and each request would undergo an examination to ensure that the proposed
commercial use would be appropriate and not negatively affect the neighborhood.
As a companion to the Cornell survey work, the Town also commissioned Historic Ithaca to write Historic Overview:
Town of Ithaca New York which serves as a useful reference concerning the Town’s history.
Town of Ithaca 2014 Comprehensive Plan B‐90
B.8.2 Historical markers
In 1996, as part of the Town’s 175th anniversary, the Town purchased and installed 28 historic markers
commemorating the Town’s history. These maroon markers can be seen throughout the Town and describe historical
places and events.
Historical markers | Town of Ithaca
Name and location Type Subject
Town Hall Town of Ithaca
Formed March 15 1821 from portion of Town of
Ulysses. Nathan Herrick 1st Supervisor; Isaac Beers
1st Clerk. Original size 31 square miles.
Front Lawn of Village Hall, 836 Hanshaw Road Cayuga Heights
Incorporated in 1915. Begun 1901 by Ithaca
businessmen Jared Newman and Charles Blood as a
quality residential community.
Off East Shore Drive, south of NY 13 interchange Renwick Heights
Named for Revolutionary War veteran and early
settler Major James Renwick, whose Military Lot 88
encompassed much of the surrounding area.
Forest Home Drive, east of Pleasant Grove Road and
downstream bridge Forest Home
Settled in 1794. Known as Sidney's Mill, later Free
Hollow. 19th Century center of industry. Renamed
Forest Home in 1876
Forest Home Drive, west of downstream bridge and
The Byway Former Industry
Grist, saw, woolen, plaster and gunpowder mills,
foundry and furniture factory once tapped Fall Creek
waterpower here in Forest Home.
Judd Falls Road, ±1,000' north of Dryden Road/NY
366 Cornell University
New York's land grant university, founded in 1865 by
Ezra Cornell "where any person can find instruction
in any study"
Judd Falls Road, ±300' south of Tower Road
intersection Agriculture College Established in 1868 on Ezra Cornell's farm to realize
his vision for agricultural research and education
Caldwell Road, ±500' north of Dryden Road/NY 366 Veterinary College
In 1868 Cornell was the first U.S. university to teach
veterinary medicine. New York established the
college in 1894.
Pine Tree Road, 200' south of Dryden Road/NY 366 Judd Falls
Reuben Judd owned a waterpowered woolen mill
here from 1832 to 1858. Other nearby industry
included a lead pipe and a chair factory
Snyder Hill Road ±500' east of Pine Tree Road William and
Hannah Pew
In 1801 settled 600 acres that today comprise
Eastern Heights and vicinity. The Pine Tree/Snyder
Hill Road corner was once known as Pewtown.
Maple Avenue, ±1,300' east of Five Corners
intersection East Ithaca
Nearby was the East Ithaca railroad depot that
served Cornell and East Hill between 1876 and 1935,
and which gave this area its name.
Honness Lane, ±1,300' west of Pine Tree Road
Elmira Cortland
and Northern
Railroad
Formed in 1869, the Elmira Cortland and Northern
Railroad served Ithaca, Etna, Cortland,
Brooktondale, and Elmira. Absorbed by Lehigh
Valley Railroad in 1896
Coddington Road, ±1,500' east of Troy Road Ithaca and Owego
Railroad
Chartered 1828. Completed 1834. Among earliest
of New York railroads. Originally horses pulled trains
the 29 miles to and from Owego.
Danby Road/NY 96B, ±300' north of Ithaca College
entrance Ithaca College
Founded in 1892 as Ithaca Conservatory of Music.
Chartered as Ithaca College in 1931. Moved from
downtown Ithaca to South Hill campus in early
1960s.
Town of Ithaca 2014 Comprehensive Plan B‐91
Historical markers | Town of Ithaca
Name and location Type Subject
Coy Glen Road, approx 1,000' west of Five Mile
Drive/NY 13A Glenside
Begun in 1928 by local contractor John Daley, who
named his new residential development Glenside
for its proximity to Coy Glen.
Bostwick Road, ±1,000' west of Five Mile Drive/NY
13A Tutelo Indians
In the 1700s the Tutelo settled Inlet Valley under
protection of the Cayuga Nation. The 1779 Sullivan
Raid drove then into Canada.
Seven Mile Drive, ±1,000 feet north of Elmira
Road/NY 13 Indian Path
From Coreorgonel over West Hill to Five Mile
(Enfield) Creek. then around Connecticut Hill and
Cayuga Lake to Cheoquagah, now Montour Falls.
East King Road, ±0.5 mile west of Troy Road Michigan Hill
Onetime name for this area. It parodied the
constant boasting by a local farmer about his plans
to move on to then frontier Michigan.
Trumansburg Road/NY 96, ±1,000' south of Dates
Drive Odd Fellows Home
Established in 1921 as home for aged and infirm
members of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows
or their orphans. Closed in 1977.
Trumansburg Road/NY 96, ±300' south of Hayts
Road Hayts Chapel
Built in 1847 as First Congregational Church of West
Hill. Was known as Abolition Church for the anti‐
slavery advocates among its leaders.
West Haven Road, ±2,000' south of Mecklenburg
Road/NY 79 Military Lots
New York State gave its Revolutionary War veterans
land as compensation for their service. 31 such lots
comprised the original Town of Ithaca.
East Buttermilk Falls Road, ±500' east of Elmira
Road/ NY 13 C.C.C. Co.1265
Between 1933 and 1941 men from Civilian
Conservation Corps Company 1265 built many of
the facilities at Buttermilk Falls and R.H. Treman
State Parks.
Burns Road, ±1,000' south of bridge over Six Mile
Creek Teegastoweas
Iroquois name for Six Mile Creek. Derived from
distance to Cascadilla Creek from place where
Warriors Path to Owego forded the stream.
Danby Road/NY 96B, ±500' north of Coddington
Road Incline Plane
Nearby was an incline plane that the Ithaca and
Owego Railroad used from 1828 to 1849 to haul
freight and passenger trains up and down South Hill
Enfield Falls Road/NY 327 opposite Gray Road Teeter Farm
In 1847 Isaac Teeter bought 112 acres of Military Lot
78. His descendents continue to farm this and other
portions of Lot 78 and adjacent Lot 77.
Enfield Falls Road/NY 327 ±1,000' west of Elmira
Road/NY 13 C.C.C. Co.1265
Between 1933 and 1941 men from Civilian
Conservation Corps Company 1265 built many of
the facilities at Buttermilk Falls and R.H. Treman
State Parks.
East Shore Drive/NY 34 ±0.75 mile north of NY 13
interchange Remington Point
From 1900 to 1921 Remington Salt Company
operated brine wells and processing plant at this
location. Salt was shipped by boat and railroad.
South Hill Recreation Way, ±300' west of Burns Road
Cayuga and
Susquehanna
Railroad
Built in 1849 to haul Pennsylvania anthracite coal to
canal at Ithaca. Later merged with Delaware
Lackawanna and Western Railroad. Abandoned in
1957.
Town of Ithaca 2014 Comprehensive Plan B‐92
Historic resources | Town of Ithaca