Changes
in the River
The earliest available map of Oneonta is from
1785. This map shows the Susquehanna River flowing past the Oneonta Creek
before it bends southward. This was the flow of the river until a major
flood in 1816. According to Edwin Moore's In Old Oneonta, the Oneonta Creek flooded in 1816
and deposited tons of sediment that changed the course of the river.
 |
This map shows the Susquehanna River flowing
past Oneonta Creek and bending sharply near Vanderwerker Road.
The Indian Trail in the Center of the map is corresponds to where Main
Street is today. |
| Oneonta 1785 from Willard V. Huntington's Old
Time Notes |
|
 |
Here we see that the bend in the river
occurs near where the Oneonta Creek flows into the Susquehanna River |
| Oneonta 1871 |
|
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This drawing shows that the Susquehanna
River bends approximately the same place as the 1871 map
shows.
The open fields in the bottom of the drawing is where Neahwa Park is
today. |
| Oneonta 1884 Drawn by L.R. Burleigh |
|
 |
This Map shows the main flow of the river is
no longer near the railroad.
The area of the writing as well as the area to the West of it is now
Neahwa Park. |
As the Map of 1871 shows, the River followed a course roughly parallel to the Albany
& Susquehanna Railroad. The
first major bend in the river occurred in what is today Lettis Highway where the
Oneonta Creek flows into the river. When we look at the map of 1902, even though it does not show
New Island, it shows the main flow of the Susquehanna River farther south than
the 1871 map or the 1884 drawing. According to these maps, at some point between 1871
and 1902 the Susquehanna River changed course somewhere upstream.
In 1898 there was a dam created in order to provide
electric power for the city. This dam formed the reservoir of Electric Lake.
According to Eugene Milener, Oneonta: The Development of a Railroad Town, the dam
and the lake were abandoned in 1954. The following maps and air photos
show Electric Lake from 1915 to 1960. The aerial photo in 1960 shows Electric Lake
almost completely dried up after it was abandoned
in 1954.
