Old Map of Aurora, New York by USGS, 1902 – Auburn, Cayuga Lake & Springport

The original title, “Auburn,” places this finely observed U.S. Geological Survey work within the authoritative topographic tradition of the early twentieth century. Surveyed in 1902 and published in 1906, the map records central New York at a moment when scientific surveying, civic expansion, and rural land use were being documented with increasing precision. Produced under the supervision of Charles W. Hayes, it reflects the USGS commitment to standardized, highly legible mapping at a scale of 1:62,500. That scale allows Auburn, Springport, Fleming, Scipio, Sennett, Cayuga Lake, and the surrounding countryside to be seen not as isolated places, but as parts of a connected landscape shaped by roads, railways, waterways, settlement, and relief.

The map’s beauty lies in its disciplined restraint. Its subdued early USGS color palette separates information with quiet clarity: contour lines articulate the terrain, watercourses thread through the sheet, and transportation routes move across the land in clean, purposeful strokes. The contouring is especially evocative, revealing the rolling hills and subtle elevation changes that define the Aurora and Auburn region. Rather than merely naming places, the map explains the land beneath them, showing how villages, farms, streams, roads, and rail lines respond to slope and drainage. Green-tinted parks and open spaces add another layer of urban and rural reading, while the careful linework gives the whole composition an elegant technical precision characteristic of American topographic mapping in this period.

Auburn itself is presented with notable density, its street pattern, residences, public buildings, and transportation links forming the visual and historical center of the map. By 1906, Auburn was already an important regional city, and the map captures the structure of its built environment before later twentieth-century expansion altered its edges and corridors. Roads and railways indicate the practical geography of commerce and movement, connecting the city with neighboring towns and rural districts. The mapped layout invites comparison with the modern city: where neighborhoods thickened, where open land was developed, and where older routes retained their importance. As a historical document, it preserves the urban fabric of Auburn at a particularly revealing moment in its evolution.

Beyond the city, the sheet opens into the characteristic landscapes of the Finger Lakes region. Cayuga Lake anchors the western portion of the mapped area, while Aurora, Springport, Fleming, Scipio, and Sennett appear within a network of roads, streams, and cultivated terrain. The topography records a landscape deeply influenced by glacial history: long lake basins, rolling uplands, and drainage patterns that shaped settlement and agriculture. Streams and small rivers are more than decorative features here; they explain the placement of roads, communities, and fields. The map’s contours make the countryside legible, showing how elevation and water created a varied terrain of ridges, slopes, shorelines, and valleys.

As a snapshot of central New York in the early 1900s, “Auburn” offers more than geographic information—it captures a region in transition. Rural townships, lakeside settlements, transport corridors, and a growing urban center coexist within a single measured composition. The map allows modern viewers to trace changes in land use, population growth, infrastructure, and environmental setting over more than a century. Its authority comes from the USGS survey tradition, but its appeal also lies in the human story embedded in the details: roads followed, railways depended upon, streams crossed, hills farmed, and towns expanding into the surrounding landscape. It is both a precise topographic record and a richly atmospheric historical portrait.

Cities, towns and places on this map

• Auburn
• Springport
• Fleming
• Scipio
• Sennett
• Cayuga Lake
• Various rivers and streams
• Residences and buildings in Auburn
• Transportation routes, including roads and railways
• Parks and open spaces

Historical context & cartographic details

• Produced by the U.S. Geological Survey under the supervision of Charles W. Hayes.
• Originally surveyed in 1902 and published in 1906.
• Scale: 1:62,500, suitable for detailed topographical analysis.
• Features contour lines indicating elevation changes and landforms.
• Uses a subdued color palette characteristic of early 20th-century USGS maps.
• Shows rolling hills and elevation changes throughout the Aurora and Auburn area.
• Provides a historical snapshot of the region in the early 1900s, useful for comparing development, land use, and geographical change over time.

Looking for a particular place? Review the detailed images to confirm that the town, landmark or feature you have in mind appears on the map. If you are unsure, ask our workshop to check before you order.

Detailed maps are especially rewarding at larger sizes, where names, boundaries and decorative features have more room to be appreciated. Use the close-up preview and size guide to choose the right scale for your wall.

This map looks amazing at sizes all the way up to 50in (125cm). If you are looking for a larger map, please get in touch.

The model in the listing images is holding the 16x20in (40x50cm) version of this map.

Where personalisation is available, you can add a short title or dedication, mark one meaningful place, or request one considered visual detail. See personalised map examples.

Every piece is printed to museum-grade archival standards using fade-resistant pigment inks on acid-free matte paper. Choose an unframed map print, framed map or canvas using the finish options above. Framed maps use crystal-clear optical acrylic and arrive ready to hang.

With its rich detail and strong sense of place, this map makes a considered gift for a new home, anniversary, retirement or anyone with a personal connection to the area shown. Still deciding? Explore our collection of rare old and vintage maps to discover another place, period or style.