A few miles southeast of Ithaca, New York is the town of Slaterville Springs. Slaterville Springs can be found in the Tompkins County town of Caroline. This area was settled in 1794 and todays is the home to more state forest land than any other town in Tompkins County, including Hammond Hill State Forest and Robinson Hollow State Forest. In 2005, Caroline become New York’s second municipality to purchase wind power for 100% of its electricity.
On the north side of Tompkins County is the town of Dryden, New York. East of Ithaca, in the Finger Lakes region, Dryden’s Southworth Library sold an original manuscript of the speech that Abraham Lincoln delivered at the White House after his re-election for $3.44 million in 2009. The manuscript had called Dryden home since 1926.