Goose Island (Tonawanda)

Goose Island (Tonawanda)

Goose Island as seen from Tonawanda Island, postcard detail, ca 1913. "Goose Island" was the name of a triangular piece of land in Tonawanda formerly cut off from the mainland by the Erie Canal. The island was first settled by Tonawanda's well-to-do, its shady trees giving "Chestnut Street" its name. It had a cemetery (whose graves wefe movd to Sweeney Cemetery) and a schoolhouse. As the lumber industry picked up in the 1860s, the character of the island changed dramatically, and it would soon be known all over the country by canawlers and sailors as a "red-light" district. The canal from Tonawanda to Buffalo is filled in around 1927, effectively reconnecting the recalcitrant island to its parent. In 1966 the remaining buildings that housed the old saloons, bordellos and dwellings were razed as part of broader "Urban Renewal" efforts. Today, the only trace of old Goose Island is the old path of Chestnut Street, which is followed by the north edge of Tops parking lot and the southern part of Niagara Shore Drive. 1937 Coppola indictment dismissed.

1951 several of the old buildings, slated for demolition anyway by the State Housing Commission as part of their postwar plan, are set on fire by an arson. 

A 1923 article claims an 1886 fire "totally destroyed" Goose Island.

First mention 1897 (Frank Alliger's novelty concern)