A map is typically used to get from place to place. But maps can also provide context about our region’s history, including Native American settlement patterns and infrastructure, early nineteenth century land speculation and development, and changing trade routes and economic activities. What’s the story behind location names like Seneca Castle / Kanadaseaga, Pultneyville, Angelica, Penn Yan, Retsof, Clifton Springs, and Batavia? Which areas were settled and prospered in different periods, how can one tell using clues on the landscape, and what historical developments and activities explain these differences? Leave this course equipped to better recognize and appreciate the historical stories that unfold outside your window every time you drive through the Rochester region.
