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Cultural and Natural History
Two documents about the history of Ithaca's waterfront area are available here. A Cultural History of Ithaca's Waterfront begins below.

To read Natural Areas Along the Waterfront Trail: Their History and Present Form scroll to the bottom of this page, after the Cultural History report.

A Cultural History of Ithaca's Waterfront
Produced by the Cayuga Waterfront Trail Initiative
Historic Research and Writing by Victoria (Vikki) Armstrong, with the assistance of the CWT History Working Group (Jane Dieckmann, Margaret Hobbie, Leslie Chatterton, Casey Westerman, Rick Manning, Judith Valentine, Mary White)
A Project of the Tompkins County Chamber of Commerce Foundation
Funded in part by the Park Foundation

The following text on the history of Ithaca's waterfront was first written in 2001 during the initial planning phase of the Cayuga Waterfront Trail to help our planners and supporters understand the history of the area, and to provide material for developing an interpretive plan for the trail. We post it here on this website because we believe it stands alone well as a survey of the history of Ithaca's waterfront. We also invite you to explore The History Center (www.thehistorycenter.net), Historic Ithaca (www.historicithaca.com), and the resources listed at the end of this document for further investigation into our shared past. Please note that the illustrations and photos were provided by The History Center, unless otherwise noted.

In 2004, CWTI released the Walk Through History brochure, a self-guided tour to help trail users experience the rich history of the Cass Park while enjoying the Cayuga Waterfront Trail. The brochure is available along the trail and can be viewed as a jpg file by clicking here.

Natural Areas Along the Waterfront Trail: Their History and Present Form

I Cayuga Lake

II The Natural Environment of the Waterfront 100 Years Ago

III What is Here Now - Unique Natural Areas

IV Other Points of Natural Interest

V Resources, Bibliography

Cayuga Lake
The most prominent natural feature along the trail is, of course, Cayuga Lake. It is the longest and second deepest of the Finger Lakes, at 38.2 miles long and 435 feet deep at its deepest point. It reaches 53 feet below sea level, and along with Seneca Lake, it is among the deepest lakes in North America.

The formation and geology of Cayuga Lake are well documented locally, particularly at the PRI's Museum of the Earth (Palentological Research Institute). In quite simplified terms, the story goes like this: Over 350 million years ago, during the Devonian period, the whole Finger Lakes area was under a shallow saltwater sea. Over time, sediments from mountains to the east filled in the sea, eventually forming the typical shale, siltstone and sandstone rock found in this area. The skeletal remains of sea creatures formed layers of limestone, and deposits from the seawater created the thick salt layers now mined from sites such as Myers Point. Cayuga Lake itself was formed during the next recorded chapter of local geological history -- the Ice Age. Prior to the start of Ice Age two million years ago, what is now Cayuga Lake was a valley with a north flowing river running through it. A series of ice sheets flowing southward from Hudson Bay, and then receding, carved out the Finger Lakes. These glaciers were often on the magnificent scale of over a mile high (an impressive model that shows this scale exists in the basement of Snee Hall at Cornell University). The glaciers also pushed deposits that created land formations such as the Valley Heads moraine, visible between Spencer and Danby. As the glaciers receded and finally disappeared around 11,000 years ago, the now deep lake filled in with water which flowed north, as it does today, and is part of the Oswego River Basin draining into Lake Ontario.

At the end of the Ice Age, streams and creeks flowing into Cayuga Lake were left "hanging", and over time the water flow carved out the magnificent gorges this area is famous for. It is only a short trip from the waterfront to the gorges of Fall Creek and Cascadilla Creek, where the geologic record and the impressive Ithaca Falls and Cascadilla Falls can be seen. Only a little farther away, one can visit the gorges and falls at Robert E. Treman Park and Taughannock Park. Taughannock Falls are the highest falls in the Northeastern U.S.

What lived here in prehistory?
There is evidence of prehistoric life in the Cayuga Lake region. Fossils from the Devonian period are abundant, found often along the eastern and western shores of the lake (but not at its south end, where sediment buries much of the rock). Fossils of the following organisms are found: brachiopods, clams (bivalves), corals, trilobites, crinoids, and cephalopods. Large mammals such as mastodons existed in this general region during the Ice Age, as recent regional whole skeleton finds have demonstrated. Although dinosaur traces are not found, as rocks formed during the Mesozoic Era have eroded away, it is believed that dinosaurs lived in this general region as well.

The Natural Environment of the Waterfront 100 Years Ago
The southern tip of Cayuga Lake is a delta or an alluvial floodplain, formed from the sediments washed in by the various creeks, especially Fall Creek, Cascadilla Creek, and Cayuga Inlet. The floodplain is typical of all the Finger Lakes. Before white settlement in the area, and even 100 years ago, this waterfront was predominantly cat-tail marsh. In a 1911 study, The Red-Winged Blackbird: A Study in the Ecology of a Cat-Tail Marsh, Arthur E. Allen, founder of the lab of ornithology at Cornell, described in detail this rich and complex natural environment which had an extensive variety of plant and animal life.

Renwick Marsh, as it was known then, covered the area north of Cascadilla Creek and stretching between the sheltering east and west hills. It was 450 acres, a mile wide and about 4/5 of a mile long. Allen delineated the marsh into a number of plant communities or associations: the open-water association, the shoreline association, the cat-tail association, the sedge association, the grass association, the alder-willow association and the maple-elm association. The cat-tail association and the sedge association covered the largest portion of the 450 acre area.

Each association has its typical plant and animal life, and the variety was extensive. One could find many birds, from kingfishers and herons at the water's edge to marsh wrens, virginia rails, and florida galinules nesting in the marsh to over 45 birds including indigo buntings, screech owls and cuckoos in the treed areas. There were five varieties of bats, plus muskrats, mink, weasels, snapping and painted turtles, shrews, mice, moles, skunks, cottontails and chipmunks. Allen listed 26 fish and 8 frogs and toads, as well as water snakes and eels.

What is Here Now - Unique Natural Areas
Almost 100 years have past since Allen's study. Much has changed at the waterfront, especially with the creation of the Golf course, Cass Park, Treman Marina, and the Flood Control Channel, and the consequent diminishing of the natural environment as witnessed by Allen and as written about in the CWT cultural history of the waterfront. Some meandering waterways had already been altered in the 19th century, and more drastic changes occurred soon after Allen's study was done. As Allen noted in his paper:

Since the completion of this study, dredging operations for the Barge Canal, resulting in the deepening and widening of the Inlet, and the consequent filling in on each side, have almost completely destroyed the marsh and replaced it with extensive dry, sandy flats of little ornithological interest.

However, there are some special sites at the waterfront that still exist in a natural state, all noted for their rich bird fauna of both nesting and migratory birds. At present, the Tompkins County Environment Management Council (TCEMC) identifies 3 unique natural areas at the waterfront: Stewart Park Woods (also known as Fuertes Bird Sanctuary), the Biological Field Station and the Hog Hole (also known as Hog's Hole). All three have ecological communities that are designated rare or scarce on a local, state and global level. These sites are best described in the words of the UNA report, which was compiled in the effort to "serve as an important step towards their protection". (Adjacent to the waterfront are three more UNA's: Indian Creek Gorge and Lake Slopes, Newman Tract, and Renwick Slope).

The Hog Hole
This (39 acre) area is a floodplain forest and wetland with a lagoon at the base of Cayuga Lake. A small brook crosses the site. A steep, exposed cliffside above the floodplain has dry-land vegetation with common cliffside plant species present. Most upland species found on the floodplain are typical of creek floodplains in the area and of rich sites. The dominant canopy trees are crack willow, cottonwood, and black locust, but other common tree species include box elder, red maple, sugar maple, basswood, white ash, sycamore, and silver maple. Hackberry, a locally scarce species, is found here. Sumac is common in the shrub layer, but the shrub layer is quite diverse with blackberry, red raspberry, and purple flowering raspberry, silky and gray dogwoods, viburnums, red-berried and black-berried elders. In the marsh, cattail is abundant. Other common species include joe-pye weed, white vervain, cutgrass, bur-reed, and jewelweed. There is evidence of disturbance, and weedy species, such as reed canary grass, purple loosestrife, and some cultivated species, including some showy species such as yellow iris, (Iris pseudocorus) and daylily, are present. Although rare and scarce plants are few, the site is very diverse. The number of species present on this small site is unusually high. The area provides important lake-side vegetation and habitat for birds, especially migrants and is noted for its rich bird fauna. The site is also noted for its rich fish fauna.

The Biological Station
This (15 acre) area is a remnant of the lake forest and marsh which was formerly widespread at the base of Cayuga Lake. The floodplain forest and marsh are located on a delta built of sediments deposited at the mouth of Cayuga Lake by the Cayuga Inlet and Fall Creek. In the hardwood forest, sycamore (Platanus occidentalis), cottonwood, box elder, red ash, and swamp red maple (a red maple x silver maple hybrid, A. freemanii) are dominant. American elm (Ulmus americana) was once a dominant tree here. Trees are festooned with vines, including Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia), poison ivy, and grape. Characteristic herbs are sensitive fern, white snakeroot (Eupatorium rugosum), and spotted jewelweed (impatiens capensis). The small remaining area of cattail marsh also has reed canary grass, wild black current, and arrow arum. The area is especially noted for its rich bird fauna, both for nesting and migratory species.

Stewart Park Woods (Fuertes Bird Sanctuary)
The (31 acre) natural area at Stewart Park includes old-growth forest and marsh growing on the river delta created by Fall Creek. Much of the floodplain forest is seasonally wet or mucky and the overstory species present, including large cottonwoods and sycamores, silver maple (Acer saccarhinum), green ash (Fraxinus pensylvanica.subs. pens.), box elder (Acer negundo), red maple (Acer rubrum), American elm (Ulmus americana), and willows, will tolerate these conditions. In the understory, wild black currant (Ribes americana), arrowwood (Viburnum dentatum), privet (Ligustrum vulgare), and spice bush (Lindera benzoin) are common. In the shallow water at the edge of the swamp and marsh there is buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis). Common forest herbs include enchanters nightshade (Circaea lutetiana), wood nettle (Laportea canadensis), clear weed (Pilea pumila), and lizard's tail (Saururus cernnuus). In wet mucky areas, skunk cabbage and sensitive fern are abundant. A number of rare species survive and thrive in this area. The site is an important birding area, rich for both nesting and migratory (especially warbler) species. Wild bees are noted for the site.

Other Points of Natural Interest
There is much to notice in the natural environment along the trail, whether stemming from human plantings and activity or as remnants of Renwick Marsh. A summer 2001 walk along the proposed trail route with Robert Wesley of Cornell Plantations, brought forth the following points of interest.

In Stewart Park, the trees are of most interest. Many trees are remnants of native floodplain forest, particularly the silver maples, oaks, red ash, black willow and cottonwoods. The weeping and white willows, trees often identified with Stewart Park, were planted in the 1960's. The biggest tree in the county is the cottonwood by the tennis courts. There are many magnificent trees in the Golf course as well, some of which are also remnants from the floodplain forest - the American sycamore, cottonwoods, silver maples.

It should be noted that Fuertes Bird Sanctuary is one of the best examples of a native floodplain forest in the Northeastern U.S., as most floodplain forests have disappeared because they are in prime urban development locations. The forest was a pure stand of black willow in the 1890's, and through natural succession, and the growth of some weedy invasives, has come to its current state with significant biodiversity.

Along the route to the Farmer's Market, the trail runs along a great example of a disturbed creek side. One could consider this a spot to learn about the weedy invasives present here: black locust, blackthorn, invasive honeysuckle, lilac, multiflora roses. Further along near the Cornell and Ithaca College Rowing centers, one also encounters wild iris and multiflora roses at the water's edge. Crossing the bridge on Buffalo street, there is a nice catalwpa tree. The plantings by the Station Restaurant were done by the Ithaca Garden Club. The willows along the trail in Cass Park were also planted, and although close to the water, they suffer from lack of water due to the poor fill soil conditions. The trail ends back at the lake, at another excellent site for viewing migrating birds, and by Hog's Hole, another rich natural site as described in the previous section.

Bibliography
Allen, Arthur E. The Red-Winged Blackbird: A Study in the Ecology of a Cat-Tail Marsh. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Library, 1911. Reprinted in 1914. QL 696 P2475 A42 1914.

Allmon, Warren D. and Robert M. Ross. Ithaca is Gorges: A Guide to the Geology of the Ithaca Area. Ithaca, N.Y.: Paleontological Research Institution, 1998.

Cayuga Lake Watershed Restoration and Protection Plan. Report for the Cayuga Lake Watershed Intermunicipal Organization. July 2001.

Comar, M.C., Kibbe, D.P. McIlroy, D.W., ed. Birding in the Cayuga Lake Basin. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell Lab of Ornithology, 1975.

Kurtz, D. Morris. Ithaca and Its Resources. Ithaca, N.Y.: Journal Association Book and Job Print, 1883.

Tompkins County Environmental Management Council. Inventory of Unique Natural Areas in Tompkins County. Last updated 2000.

Special thanks to
Robert Wesley frw2@cornell.edu
Dave Nutter
Jim Sherpa
Rick Manning
Tom Mank
The CWTI Natural History Working Group