Storytime with Corey ‘Right at the Door of Cornell’ A new book explores how the Ithaca ‘suburb’ of Cayuga Heights was born, a half-century after the University’s founding By Corey Ryan Earle ’07 In 1922, Jared Treman Newman 1875 described “the plateau on the north side of Fall Creek” as a “spacious area right at the door of Cornell.” Newman would go on to co-develop what became the Village of Cayuga Heights—the only village within the Town of Ithaca and the only incorporated faculty enclave in a New York State college town. In a new book, longtime resident Bea Szekely—the village’s historian, a Big Red parent, and former director of Cornell’s study abroad program—chronicles Cayuga Heights’ origins and its many connections to the University. Its title—University Suburb: Founding the Village of Cayuga Heights in Ithaca, New York—is drawn from a phrase that first appeared in the Daily Sun in 1922, signifying the village’s proximity to Cornell and its beginnings as a faculty enclave developed to accommodate the growing number of professors. Perhaps best known for its stately homes—many belonging to distinguished University leaders and scholars over the years—the small community has a history that is inextricably tied to its academic neighbor. Marcham Hall is home to the village clerk, CHPD, and other municipal offices. In fact, the village hall itself was built as the home for Ezra Cornell’s granddaughter, and now bears the name of former village mayor and eminent professor of history, Frederick Marcham, PhD 1926. The book developed in part from the Cayuga Heights History Project, launched to celebrate the village’s centennial in 2015—the same year as Cornell’s own sesquicentennial. To document Cayuga Heights’ people and places, Szekely and her collaborators (including alum and village resident Carole Schiffman ’83), developed a website on the village’s history. An aerial photo from a 1913 brochure. It includes an interactive map, a chronicle of home ownerships, and archival images, offering a wonderful resource for residents and visitors alike. Painstakingly researched using records from Cornell’s Rare and Manuscript Collections and the History Center in Tompkins County, Szekely’s University Suburb offers something for everyone. For aficionados of Big Red lore, the story of Cayuga Heights is the story of Cornell during a period of significant growth at the turn of the 20th century. The story of Cayuga Heights is the story of Cornell during a period of significant growth at the turn of the 20th century. In the 19th century, unofficial policy saw faculty living on campus, and students off campus. But from 1900–10, both groups nearly doubled in size, and the residential system reversed. The University began building men’s dormitories for the first time, and faculty began to seek convenient housing within walking distance to campus. Of the faculty cottages that once lined Feeney Way (formerly East Avenue) and Ho Plaza (formerly Central Avenue), only the A.D. White House remains today. Back in 1917—before its many trees were planted and matured—the new village had breathtaking views of the lake. The book’s characters include an array of notable faculty, alumni, and trustees. A 1925 village directory identifies 100 Cayuga Heights “householders”—85 of whom were Cornell-affiliated. For fans of urban planning, design, and architecture, University Suburb touches on all three. Cayuga Heights was one of several “heights” real estate developments, along with Cornell Heights (directly north of Fall Creek Gorge) and Renwick Heights (sloping down toward Ithaca High from the plateau). Cayuga Heights is the only one that became a separate municipality. A key figure in opening the area for development was businessman Edward Wyckoff 1889. Wyckoff inherited his father’s interests in the Remington typewriter company and began purchasing farmland across Fall Creek Gorge. To increase access, he financed the construction of the original Thurston Avenue and Stewart Avenue bridges (opened in 1897 and 1899, respectively), with a trolley line eventually extending across them. Cayuga Heights’ picturesque setting and winding roads are a distinguishing feature of the village, thanks to several notable landscape architects who consulted on its design. Developer Edward Wyckoff. Based on the “garden suburb” design principles of Frederick Law Olmsted, the streets and homesites utilize the natural landscape to create a wooded, parklike neighborhood without forcing it into a rectangular grid. For those interested in political intrigue, the book brims with municipal debates, land negotiations, and strained relationships. Based on the “garden suburb” design principles of Frederick Law Olmsted, the streets and homesites utilize the natural landscape to create a wooded, parklike neighborhood. Although Wyckoff was focused on the Cornell Heights area, his efforts were extended northward to Cayuga Heights by Jared Treman Newman and Charles Hazen Blood 1888, LLB 1890. Both were leaders in civic affairs and became long-serving local members of Cornell’s Board of Trustees. Unfortunately, Newman and Blood found that their development projects soured their political fortunes. A 1947 architectural rendering of the village’s shopping center, which still thrives today. With Newman as mayor of the City of Ithaca and Blood as a county and surrogate court judge, they were criticized for conflicts of interest in their decisions about city water access, trolley contracts, and road paving that extended up the hill to their Cayuga Heights real estate holdings. For those interested in political intrigue, University Suburb brims with municipal debates, land negotiations, and strained relationships. Newman served two years as mayor, but failed to receive his party’s nomination for reelection in 1908. The following year, Blood lost reelection as county judge. Neither sought public office again. The book’s epitaph is a quote from Ezra Cornell’s son Franklin, who recognized the area’s potential long before the village’s founding. Broadlawns, the hilltop home of Franklin Cornell, and … a photomontage of the spectacular lake view it once commanded. “The land across the gorge is the grandest and best in this county for residences,” he said. “It is an ideal place and some time the campus people will burst across the gorge in a stream and make those lands the choicest in Ithaca.” He was right. (Top: One of the village’s stately homes in 1929. All images courtesy of the Cayuga Heights History Project.) An expert on Big Red lore, Corey Ryan Earle ’07 teaches “The First American University,” a wildly popular spring semester course on Cornell history. Published July 14, 2025 Leave a Comment Cancel replyOnce your comment is approved, your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *Comment * Name * Class Year Email * Save my name, email, and class year in this browser for the next time I comment. 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