Map of the Villages of Niagara Falls & Niagara City, New York, the Village of Elgin, and the City of the Falls, Canada West

Cartographer: T. D. Judah, Civil Engineer; lithographed by J. H. Bufford’s Lith., Boston, 1854

Year: 1856

Prepared for the Niagara Falls Water Power Company, this plan links three speculative townsites on both banks of the Niagara River just above the cataract. A broad canal is drawn parallel to the American shore, designed to divert water to mill races before emptying at the gorge edge. Fine grid lines divide the proposed streets, numbered blocks, and individual 25-foot lots, while heavier shading marks the river’s rapids, Goat Island, and prospective bridge abutments. Across the river, a matching layout for Elgin and City of the Falls mirrors the New York side, connected by a projected suspension bridge. Property boundaries, ferry landings, and existing railheads appear lightly, showing how the new grids would mesh with earlier surveys. The map served investors as a promotional tool, illustrating how controlled waterpower and cross-river transport could transform the scenic gorge into a manufacturing hub.