Railroad Abutment, Piper Road

This is a remnant of the Pennsylvania and Sodus Bay Railroad which was chartered in 1870. The railroad company secured the charter to build a track from Spencer that could connect with the Ithaca and Athens railroad through Newfield, Enfield, Ulysses, Covert, Ovid and Varick to Seneca Falls. The company made a survey and began work on the roadbed but abandoned the project in 1872. The town had to repay $52,000 in bonds which it had purchased to finance construction. A competing railroad line later completed a similar connection. The roadbed can still be followed along much of its course through Newfield township.