Gazetteers

Gazetteers are lists of places or geographical features that are referenced to some particular map grid or coordinate system, frequently latitude and longitude.

"Gazetteers" is a Library of Congress subject subdivision, so it is alway possible use the advanced search screen in WorldCat or Voyager and search for the broad area ("New York State" not "Groton") and "gazetteer" as subject words.

Many local and historical gazetteers have been scanned and are available online with searchable full text. So a Google search can also be useful. Also, don't overlook Wikipedia as a gazetteer.

Historic Gazetteers

An example of a scanned local gazetteer. This is a very useful historical gazetteer for New York state. Compare the database record provided by Ancestry, and the page images provided by HeritageQuest. Both resources are Cornell-only subscriptions.