Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Crystal Beach. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1900Canandaigua sheet · 1:62,500
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Crystal Beach.
Before being established as Crystal Beach, the land was originally owned by the Washburn family, who maintained a large grape farm. In 1929, Paul Ritchie, owner of Finger Lakes Company, purchased the farm and the subsequent land. He began planning a large housing development in the area. The company built a grid of roads, and dedicated land for neighborhood parks. 965 30 ft x 80 ft lots were built for housing. Midway through building the new cottages at Crystal Beach, the Great Depression hit, and all development seized. Many of the homes built after the Great Depression were built by non-professional individuals, which is why we see a large variation of style and quality of homes in the Crystal Beach area today.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikipedia and U.S. Geological Survey historical maps. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
