New York State Canal Corporation Survey Maps of the Northern and Southern Reservoir Systems

Arranged by reservoir system.

Although surveys were made when the reservoir system was created by the Department of Public Works to serve the state canal system (early 19th through 20th century), the boundary lines of state property were not clearly defined, especially in the Adirondack region. In the early 1990s the Thruway Authority was mandated to conduct a comprehensive survey to clearly establish the state's property lines. The maps in this series are the result of the research portion of that survey. The survey was completed in 1997.

This series was created by the Canal Corporation of the Thruway Authority to establish state property boundaries adjacent to the Northern and Southern Reservoir Systems. It consists primarily of maps and structure drawings of the Northern and Southern Reservoirs of the Barge Canal. Most maps relate to either the Northern or Southern Reservoir System in whole or part; some relate to the entire reservoir system, and others relate to feeders and other reservoirs. Several of the maps are unrelated to the reservoir systems and were apparently inadvertently withdrawn by the Canal Corporation for the survey.

Reservoirs documented in the series which pertain to the Northern Reservoir System include Carthage Dam; Delta Dam; the Fulton Chair; South Lake Reservoir, White Lake Reservoir, and Woodhull Reservoir.

Reservoirs documented in the series which pertain to the Southern Reservoir System include Bradley Brook; DeRuyter; Eaton Brook; Erieville; Hatch's Lake; Jamesville; Kingsley Brook; Madison Brook; Woodman Pont; and Leland Pond reservoirs.

B1542-15: This accretion contains a map of DeRuyter Reservoir, 1856; surveys of Leland Ponds Reservoir (Madison County), as well as transcriptions and photostats of deeds for reservoir land around time of purchase in the 1830s; and appropriation surveys of the Stone Monuments, Hinckley Reservoir, 1909.

B0729Series B0729, Roll Maps and Plans of the Middle Division of the Erie Canal, is one collection from which some of these maps were withdrawn prior to transfer to the State Archives.

B1542-97: Item list is available at the repository.

B1542-15: These records were identified and transferred by principal engineer William Schollenberger of the New York State Canal Corporation in April 2014.

B1542-97: This set was kept at the main office of the Waterways Maintenance Division of the Department of Transportation (later the Thruway Authority) and may be largely duplicated by maps retained in the divisional office in Syracuse. The maps were withdrawn from many separate collections by the Thruway Authority for the purpose of more clearly establishing state boundaries around reservoirs created to supply water for the state's canal system.

There are no restrictions regarding access to or use of the material.