Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Home! In 1883...

Ithaca! "Forest City", they called it back then. Where Rome had seven hills, "Ithaca makes her boast of seven streams, concerning which she challenges the world". Then there's the lake, "that with its framing of bright, foliage-covered hills and the inlet at its head, might be likened unto a large and beautiful hand mirror." Cornell! The town. The 150 waterfalls. The deep glens and gorges.

Look! This view of Fall Creek emptying into the lake -- it's hardly different now.

D. Morris Kurtz wrote about them all in Ithaca and Its Resources, in 1881. By a wonderful miracle, I ran into it on Google Books, where it's there for the reading. As the title page says,

Ithaca and Its Resources
Being an Historical and a Descriptive Sketch of the "Forest City" and Its Magnificent Scenery
Glens - Falls - Ravines
Cornell University
and the principal

Manufacturing and Commercial Interests

by D. Morris Kurtz

Fully Illustrated


Come and see >

2 comments:

Rebecca said...

Natalie, thanks for posting this. I'll pass this along to Darleen. She has a friend who lives up this way and will no doubt find this very interesting.

ZipZip said...

Dear Rebecca,
That's right! She has that lucky friend who lives on the shores of the lake in Aurora. Bet she finds the book nifty...