Cabaret stars from Aurigema party charged, article (Ton News, 1972-09-05).pdf
date: 1972-09-05

DeGraff Mansion, illustration (Dennis Reed Jr, 2023).jpg
description: For more variations, see my Art section.

DeGraff Mansion, illustration (Dennis Reed Jr., 2023).jpg
date: 2023

Delaware Pool, Bintz pool, Tonawanda, photos (c1955).jpg
date: 1955

The Nationals Twin City baseball team, Amateur Niagara County, team photo (1911).jpg
date: 1911

Myles Joyce to seek 7th term, Buttermilk case, article (Tonawanda News, 1969-06-18.pdf
description: The so-called "Buttermilk Trial" of Mayor Myles Joyce (who is pulled over for drunk driving, and claims he was drinking only buttermilk) appears to have been covered extensively. Some <a href="https://fultonhistory.com/highlighter/highlight-for-xml?altUrl=https%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FNewspaper%252011%2FNorth%2520Tonawanda%2520NY%2520Evening%2520News%2FNorth%2520Tonawanda%2520NY%2520Evening%2520News%25201944%2520%2520Grayscale%2FNorth%2520Tonawanda%2520NY%2520Evening%2520News%25201944%2520%2520Grayscale%2520-%25201644.pdf%23xml%3Dhttps%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FdtSearch%2Fdtisapi6.dll%3Fcmd%3Dgetpdfhits%26u%3D6c610a2b%26DocId%3D2039655%26Index%3DZ%253a%255cDISK%2520U%26HitCount%3D34%26hits%3D1%2B8%2B17f%2B184%2B1b1%2B258%2B311%2B560%2B596%2B61b%2B641%2B859%2B93b%2B9be%2Ba21%2Bb2d%2Bb74%2Bba7%2Bbd2%2Bcc1%2Bccd%2Bd3c%2Bd48%2Be9f%2Bebd%2Bec3%2Bf3d%2Bf47%2Bf62%2Bf67%2Bf92%2B10fb%2B1100%2B1107%2B%26SearchForm%3D%252fFulton%255fform%252ehtml%26.pdf&uri=https%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FNewspaper%252011%2FNorth%2520Tonawanda%2520NY%2520Evening%2520News%2FNorth%2520Tonawanda%2520NY%2520Evening%2520News%25201944%2520%2520Grayscale%2FNorth%2520Tonawanda%2520NY%2520Evening%2520News%25201944%2520%2520Grayscale%2520-%25201644.pdf&xml=https%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FdtSearch%2Fdtisapi6.dll%3Fcmd%3Dgetpdfhits%26u%3D6c610a2b%26DocId%3D2039655%26Index%3DZ%253a%255cDISK%2520U%26HitCount%3D34%26hits%3D1%2B8%2B17f%2B184%2B1b1%2B258%2B311%2B560%2B596%2B61b%2B641%2B859%2B93b%2B9be%2Ba21%2Bb2d%2Bb74%2Bba7%2Bbd2%2Bcc1%2Bccd%2Bd3c%2Bd48%2Be9f%2Bebd%2Bec3%2Bf3d%2Bf47%2Bf62%2Bf67%2Bf92%2B10fb%2B1100%2B1107%2B%26SearchForm%3D%252fFulton%255fform%252ehtml%26.pdf&openFirstHlPage=false">testimony here.
date: 1969-06-18

State grant to fix up Payne Pool, article (Tonawanda News, 1985-03-25).png
date: 1985-03-25

Payne Pool renovations postponed until fall, article (Tonawanda News, 1986-02-25).png
date: 1986-02-25

Kids at Memorial Pool, photo (c1976).jpg
date: 1976

Council to award contract to fix up swimming pool, article (Tonawanda News, 1986-08-02).png
date: 1986-08-02

Closure of North Tonawanda Pool is the end of an era, article (Samantha Christmann, Buffalo News, 2023).htm
description: As a kid in North Tonawanda, every summer morning in 1988 was the same ritual. I would stretch on my purple swimsuit, still damp from the night before, roll up my towel, tuck it under my arm and slam through the screen door on my way to the Memorial Pool. It was a two-block trip, waving to the watchful elders sitting on porches or working in gardens, and keeping an eye out for the Monarch butterflies that seemed to be everywhere in those days. A tangle of bicycles thrown down under the big willow tree signaled that my friends had beat me to Payne Park and I’d usually find them pumping away on the swings, trying to make it over the top bar. Together, we’d make our way to the giant, brick, above-ground pool and, though my friends had seen it a million times, I’d always point to my great-uncle’s name on the plaque outside the entrance: “Built by Joseph M. Wrazin,” my grandma’s brother. It was the most prestige a working-class kid from the avenues could get. Built just after World War II as a memorial to the veterans, the pool was designed by noted engineer Wesley Bintz. Its patented design, with locker rooms on the first floor, made it easier and less expensive to build and maintain than other models, according to Tegan Baiocchi, an architectural historian in Michigan. To this day, when I smell chlorine, all I can picture are those locker rooms. I can still hear the slam of the metal lockers and the echo of my friends’ laughter bouncing off the walls. I taught myself to dog paddle in the 3-foot-deep shallow end, when I was young enough that my teenage sister, Loree, would deposit me there, then run off with her friends. Life really is sink or swim sometimes. Of course, one day, I became a teenager myself, teasing and spraying my hair before a trip to the pool and spending the whole time trying not to get it wet so I could look good for Seth, the gorgeous head lifeguard. The deep end was for the diving boards and ‘the Plat,’ an elevated platform from which the most dari…

Memorial Pool, drone photo gallery (Mike Chrzanowski, 2023-09-01).jpg
date: 2023-09-01

Bintz Pool examples from other cities, photos.jpg
description: Wesley Bintz made a career out of building municipal swimming pools across the United States. These examples show how the basic design was adapted to different settings and needs across the decades.

Youth dance slated at Memorial Pool, The Caravans, article (Tonawanda News, 1964-07-28).png
date: 1964-07-28

Weather fine for swimmers, platform, photo (Ton News, 1973-07-23) .jpg
date: 1973-07-23

TNT Sports Carnival, Inc, ad (Ton News, 1949).jpg
date: 1949

Teen dance is scheduled on north side, Caravans, photo article (Tonawanda News, 1965-07-27).jpg
date: 1965-07-27

Snak & Shake, 817 Payne, ad (Tonawanda News, 1959-09-17).png
date: 1959-09-17

Payne Pool ready for use after leak repairs, article (Ton News, 1969-06-28).png
date: 1969-06-28

NT pool to open Monday; many events on schedule,article (Tonawanda News, 1961-06-22).jpg
date: 1961-06-22

NT council defers action on regulation for pools overcrowding, article (Ton News, 1964-06-22).png
date: 1964-06-22

Lumber City swim meet is Saturday, article (Buffalo Courier, 1976-07-23.jpg
date: 1976-07-23

Hot dog stand removal ordered, article (Tonawanda News, 1978-02-22).png
date: 1978-02-22

Estate has deadline to remove Ken's Hot Dog Stand from Payne Memorial Pool property, article (Tonawanda News, 1978-06-08).jpg
date: 1978-06-08

1,200 teenagers at dance in NT, article (Tonawanda News, 1964-07-16).jpg
date: 1964-07-16

Memorial Pool farewell, photo gallery (2023).jpg
description: Photos by Dennis Reed Jr.
date: 2023-08-29

On the Avenues and Beyond by John Kolecki, 2007, book review (Dennis Reed Jr, 2023).htm
description: It’s disorienting to contemplate how different the Avenues would have appeared to young Master Kolecki in 1925. If you’ve seen photographs of the era, you realize they might as well have been taken in Slovenia. It’s a decidedly more rural existence. Most families keep their own small vegetable gardens “either on their own lot or on a nearby vacant city-owned lot. Many ‘lot gardens’ were located between Gilmore Street and Payne Avenue” (35). The “upper” avenues (9th through 19th) only begin to get filled in with homes during the post-WWII era. Livestock abounds, including poultry, rabbits and pigs (“The aroma of smoked sausages, hams and bacon signaled the Easter season” (35)). The author, John Kolecki, is about as homegrown as they grow ‘em: Born in North Tonawanda in 1920 and educated at OLC and NTHS, he later earns a degree from Canisius. He is a proud Polish WWII war veteran and educator. In the Acknowledgments he says he is now 86 years old, “more like an old horse than a young colt.” The earliest recollections are likely from around 1925, when he is a boy at 5 (a charming cover photo shows him on a palomino pony; we learn later it was staged by an entrepreneurial photographer who roamed the Avenues with the animal). It’s a time when the Polish presence on the Avenues is developing into a self-sufficient community; a time of new automobiles, Prohibition, and then the further privations of the Great Depression and WWII. His narrative is supplemented by church pamphlets preserved by his wife, Violet; articles from the Am-Pol Eagle; resources from local libraries and historical societies. Neither Burger King nor McDonald’s were offering their Big Fish or Fishwich sandwiches yet, so the Niagara River had to provide protein in fish form. The rod and reel, baited throw lines and night lines were common among the “slip area” of the river where the avenues’ fishermen most often plied their skill. In other areas of the river, fisherman use the “unsportsmanlike method” of…

The Town of Wheatfield, transcribed chapter (Landmarks of Niagara County, 1897).pdf
description: CHAPTER XXII. THE TOWN OF WHEATFIELD. Wheatfield is the last town organized in Niagara County, and was set off from Niagara May 12, 1836. It lies on the southern boundary of the county, west of the center, and extends farther south than any other town. The Niagara River forms its southwestern boundary and Tonawanda Creek its southern. Its surface is level or gently undulating. The soil is generally a clayey loam, not easy of cultivation, but productive of grains and especially of wheat; this latter fact gave the town its name. Cayuga Creek flows across the northwestern part of the town and empties into the Niagara River, and Sawyer’s Creek flows southeasterly across the southeastern part and empties into TonawandaCreek. The town contains four post offices Martinsville, Bergholtz, St. Johnsburg, andShawnee, besides the city of North Tonawanda, and the hamlet of Walmore, in the northwestern corner. The first town meeting was held on the 6th of June, 1836, in the school house of districtNo. 7, on the north line of the town, and the following were elected as the first officers:Supervisor, N. M. Ward.; town clerk, Edwin Cook; assessors, Isaac H. Smith, JamesSweeney, Hiram Parks; justices of the peace, L. B. Warden, John Sweeney; commissioners of highways, Elias Parks, Matthew Gray; collector, Stewart Milliman; Overseer of the poor, William Towsley; constables, Stewart Milliman, Daniel C. Jacobs, Calvin F. Champlin, Seth F. Roberts; commissioners of schools, Isaac L. Young, James Sweeney, Loyal E. Edwards. These were all esteemed citizens of the town at that comparatively late date. The following have been supervisors of the town: In 1836, N. M. Ward; 1837, Benjamin McNitt; 1838, N. M. Ward; 1839, WilliamVandervoort; 1840, John Sweeney; 1842, Isaac L. Young; 1843, N. M. Ward; 1844—45,Lewis S. Payne; 1846, N. M. Ward; 1847—48, L. S. Payne; 1849, Sylvester McNitt;1850, L. S. Payne; 1851, Seth F. Roberts: 1852, Sylvester McNitt; 1853—54, PeterGreiner; 1855, Joseph Hawbecker:…
date: 1897

Young girl, Clench, cabinet card (c1890) .jpeg
date: 1890

Woman and small child, cabinet photo, RJ Clench, ad on back (c1890).jpeg
date: 1890

Mother and daughter, cabinet card (Torreys Photographic Rooms, c1880).jpeg
date: 1880

Bearded man, Clench cabinet card (c1890).jpeg
date: 1890

Baby, cabinet card (Clench, c1890).jpeg
date: 1890

You can get anything you may want on the market, article (Tonawanda News, 1910).jpg
date: 1910

Public market directory, ad (Tonawanda News, 1910).jpg
date: 1910

Grand opening, Market Hotel, ad (Tonawanda News, 1908-12-15).jpg
date: 1908-12-15

Would keep steam company away from NT, article (Tonawanda News, 1908-09-08).jpg
date: 1908-09-08

To liven a dead one, market site property, article (Tonawanda News, 1908-01-22).jpg
date: 1908-01-22

Theodore S Fassett, owner of Tonawanda Island, dead at 60, 420 Linwood Ave, article (1908-09-02).jpg
date: 1908-09-02

The new (Market) Hotel nearly completed, article (Tonawanda News, 1908-11-16).jpg
date: 1908-11-16

The market, editorial (Tonawanda News, 1908-08-17).jpg
date: 1908-08-17

The Hoodoo car killed motorman, article (Tonawanda News, 1908-12-09).jpg
date: 1908-12-09

State inspector at public market, article (Tonawanda News, 1908-11-05).jpg
date: 1908-11-05

Special election to decide fate of market site, article (Tonawanda News, 1908-01-29).jpg
date: 1908-01-29

Schumacker guilty of excise violation, Market Hotel, article (Tonawanda News, 1914-12-16).jpg
date: 1914-12-16

Scenic Family Theatre, blackface banjoist, illusionist, ad (Tonawanda News, 1908-09-18).jpg
date: 1908-09-18

Scenic Family Theatre, ad (Tonawanda News, 1908-09-10).jpg
date: 1908-09-10

Saturday week, city market formally opened, article (Tonawanda News, 1908-08-05).jpg
date: 1908-08-05

Rand Company to build again, will raze Market Hotel, article (Tonawanda News, 1920-06-04).jpg
date: 1920-06-04

Public market debated, article (Tonawanda News, 1908-01-25).jpg
date: 1908-01-25

Program NTMIW band concert, ad (Tonawanda News, 1908-09-18).jpg
date: 1908-09-18

Possibly Market Hotel, illustration (1921).jpg
date: 1921

Plans for public market and sewers in two streets ready, article (Tonawanda News, 1908-04-21).jpg
date: 1908-04-21

Ordinance creating the North Tonawanda Public Market (Tonawanda News, 1908-08-24).jpg
date: 1908-08-24

North Tonawanda Public Market, listing (Tonawanda News, 1925-01-09).jpg
date: 1925-01-09

New Market Hotel, ad (Tonawanda News, 1908-12-11).jpg
date: 1908-12-11

Market to be voted on, article (Tonawanda News, 1897-08-12).jpg
date: 1897-08-12

Market shelter, Twin City Dairy, map detail (1951).jpg
date: 1951

Market ready, article (Tonawanda News, 1908-07-18).jpg
date: 1908-07-18

Market matters, article (Tonawanda News, 1908-07-22).jpg
date: 1908-07-22

Market Hotel opens tomorrow, article (Tonawanda News, 1908-11-30).jpg
date: 1908-11-30

Market committee will get nice little trip to Dunkirk, article (Tonawanda News, 1908-02-28).jpg
date: 1908-02-28

Look for market on another page, Market Hotel, article (Tonawanda News, 1910-09-02 1035).jpg
date: 1910-09-02

Improvements at market, notice (Tonawanda News, 1908-09-08.jpg
date: 1908-09-08

Handsome dinner set for Gustave Moll, Public Market clerk, article (Tonawanda News, 1908-12-26).jpg
date: 1908-12-26

Gave fine concert at north side market, NTMIW, article (Tonawanda News, 1908-09-21).jpg
date: 1908-09-21

Free (NTMIW) band concert at public market, article (Tonawanda News, 1908-09-17, 1751).jpg
date: 1908-09-17

Formal opening of public market, article (Tonawanda News, 1908-08-24).jpg
date: 1908-08-24

Formal opening of city market will occur Saturday evening, article (Tonawanda News, 1908-08-19).jpg
date: 1908-08-19

Find live toad incarcerared in cement block during Market Hotel demolition, article (Tonawanda News, 1932-08-01).jpg
date: 1932-08-01

Contract let, Public Market must be completed not later than July 15, article (Tonawanda News, 1908-05-13).jpg
date: 1908-05-13

Come listen to NTMIW band concert, ad (Tonawanda News, 1908-09-17).jpg
date: 1908-09-17

Buyers guide of the North Tonawanda Public Market, ad (Tonawanda News, 1908-08-22).jpg
date: 1908-08-22

Business directory of public market, ad (Tonawanda News, 1908-08-29).jpg
date: 1908-08-29

Band concert at the public market, Weins Twin City Band, ad (Tonawanda News, 1910-05-25ish).jpg
date: 1910-05-25

All ready for formal opening of Public Market, article (Tonawanda News, 1908-08-22).jpg
date: 1908-08-22

All is ready for the (informal) opening (of the public market), article (Tonawanda News, 1908-08-12).jpg
date: 1908-08-12

A 10K hotel near public market, article (Tonawanda News, 1908-09-01).jpg
date: 1908-09-01

Wurlitzer Unit Orchestra Photo Album (Vestal Press reprint, c1975).jpg
date: 1914

Locke role in 1st Presbyterian, article (Tonawanda News, 1972-06-03).png
date: 1972-06-03

Johnson household, U. S. Census (1855).jpg
date: 1855

Jesse F. Locke and wife, grave in Sweeney Cemetery, photos (Dennis Reed Jr, 2012).jpg
date: 2012

Alleged grave of Hannah Johnson, Sweeney Cemetery, photo (NOT her grave), photo (Dennis Reed Jr, 2012.jpg
description: Identified by an old-timer as her grave. Not believed to be true.
date: 2012

Public Market, North Tonawanda, postcard (c1910).jpg
description: North Tonawanda Musical Instrument Works in the background before its 1911 expansion.
date: 1910

When trains and trolleys traverse, article (Tonawanda News, 1976-11-11).pdf
date: 1976-11-11

Gratwick trolley line was first in North Tonawanda, article (Tonawanda News, 1925-10-20).jpg
date: 1925-10-20

Busses replace trolley, cars on Oliver St. line, article (Tonawanda News, 1925-10-20).jpg
date: 1925-10-20

Electric Railway, Stumpf cabinet photo (1917-09-29).jpg
date: 1917-09-29

Creo-Dipt, Shingles and Stains catalog excerpts (1946).jpeg
date: 1946

Souvenir history of Niagara County, New York - Commemorative of the 25th anniversary of the Pioneer Association of Niagara County (1902).pdf
date: 1902

North Tonawanda and Martinsville, map detail (Beers Atlas of Niagara and Orleans, 1860).jpg
description: Carney's Island, Distillery, Ayer Estate, Fisher, Cap. o. Shepard, Rosebrock, Kibber, Roney, A. Jerbitz, Zimmerman, Rumbolt, Dreggs, Nutting, J. Johnson, J. Chadwick,D. Locke, Fritz, Kopp, Taul, others.
date: 1860

Niagara County, map (LOC, 1852).jpg
date: 1852

Van Slyke & Company, round silos, illustrated letterhead (1912-12-10).jpg
date: 1912-12-10

Tonawanda Power Company, Bell and Home Phone, ad (Tonawanda News, 1908-11-28).jpg
date: 1908-11-28

Tonawanda Brewing Company, Crackers, Cheese and Beer, ad (1917).jpg
date: 1917

The Pirate Michigan with a cargo of ferocious animals, handbill (1827).jpg
date: 1827

Telephone franchises, Home Telephone to be awarded, Bell possible, article (Tonawanda News, 1900-04-18).jpg
date: 1900-04-18

Stardust Lounge ad, 775 Oliver St., logotype (Tonawanda News, 1986).jpg
date: 1986

River Road Flea Market, 555 River Rd., ad (Tonawanda News, 1986-01-31).jpg
date: 1986-01-31

River Road Flea Market, 555 River Rd., ad (Tonawanda News, 1985-12-28).jpg
date: 1985-12-28

Rainbow Roller Rink, heart-shaped illustration (c1950).png
date: 1950

Piece-a-Dough, 313 Payne Ave., ad (Tonawanda News, 1981-11-05).jpg

NT Cheer Squad, photo (John Baran on Facebook, 1935).jpeg

Keystone Coin, Kerr Jeweler, Tonawanda, card (c1890).jpg

Ziehl family, photo (c.1918).jpg
date: 1918

Wurlitzer Zodiac, ad (1970).jpeg
date: 1970

Wurlitzer Statesman, women, photo (c1970).jpeg
date: 1970

Wurlitzer microphone, ad (1966).jpeg
date: 1966

Wurlitzer jukebox, teen dancer, photo (c1960).jpeg
date: 1960

Wurlitzer jukebox, showgirls, photo (c1950).jpeg
date: 1950

Wurlitzer factory floor, photo (1953).jpg
date: 1953

Wurlitzer achievement pins (c 1930).jpg
source: 1930

Wurlitzer 1700, girl with soda, photo (c.1955).jpeg
date: 1955

Wurlitzer 1100, vendor training, photo (c1960).jpg
date: 1960

Wurlitzer, Groucho Marx, photo (c1945).jpeg
date: 1945

Wurlitzer entrance court, postcard (1936).jpeg
date: 1936

Tonawanda Iron Works, postcard (1909).jpg
date: 1909

Toddler, Arch cabinet card (c1900).jpg
date: 1900

River Road China Shop, 861 River Road, ad (Tonawanda News, 1938-01-18 - 1942).jpg
date: 1938-01-18

Niagara Silk Maid, postcard (c.1920).jpg
date: 1920

King Construction Co., mill wood workers, photo (c1910).png
date: 1910

Lumber shovers strike culminates in an ugly riot, article (Buffalo Courier, 1892-06-12).pdf
date: 1892-06-12

Mother and children, cabinet card, Oliver Studio (474 Oliver Street).jpeg

Modernize your Wurlitzer, ad (1945).jpg
source: 1945

Megown's Cabins (Niagara Falls Blvd near Kreuger Rd), postcard (c.1940).jpg
date: 1940

Mayor Ollie Vetoes Bell Telephone Franchise, article (Tonawanda News, 1902-03-05).pdf
date: 1902-03-05

IRC High Speed Train, Facebook, photo (c1920).jpg
date: 1920

Interference, Bell said to hamper work of Home Telephone Company, article (Tonawanda News, 1900-10-12).jpg
date: 1900-10-12

Home Telephone connected with Median, article (Tonawanda News,1902-04-17).jpg
date: 1902-04-17

Guy at orchestrion, photo (c1922).png
date: 1922

Franchise awarded to Rawson Electric Company, Home Telephone, article (Tonawanda News, (1900-05-16).jpg
date: 1900-05-16

Five Star Markets, 981 Payne Ave., ad (Tonawanda News, 1959).jpg
date: 1959

Failure, Bell Telephone Company, ad (Tonawanda News, 1904-04).jpg
date: 1904-04

Clover Club, 367 Oliver, formerly Horvath's, ad (Tonawanda News, 1947).jpg
date: 1947

Cheerleaders, photo (1948, Liz Woods).jpg
date: 1948

Letter from C.M. Leslie in response to Thayer business ad (1884-07).png
date: 1884-07

Kardex promotional mailer (c1922).jpg
date: 1922

Goundry Street, looking east from Paynes Avenue, postcard (c1910).jpeg
date: 1910-06-17

Fenton Fibre Box Company, illustrated envelope (1924).jpeg
date: 1924

F. Ziehl & Son Groceries, unlabeled photo (August 1918).jpg
date: 1918-08

Ellicott Park Court, 2470 Niagara Falls Blvd, postcard (c1950).jpg
date: 1950

Divers in Tonawanda Art Noble and Robert Christiansen simulate longest dive, press photo (1965).jpg
date: 1965

DeLuxe Lanes, Bowl for Health, ad (Tonawanda News, 1947).jpg
date: 1947

City of North Tonawanda, 1 of 3 (George W. Millener, excerpted from Souvenier History of Niagara County, 1902) .jpg
date: 1902

Charles Douglas Miller with Wurlitzer player piano, photo (c.1915).jpeg
date: 1915

Buffalo Bolt matchbook (c1945).png
date: 1945

bowl-for-health-retro-ad-art-banner (c1945).jpg
date: 1945

Antique silver case, Charles Butts (c.1890).jpg
date: 1890

Avenues, Payne Estate, future Mid-City Plaza, aerial photo (1938).jpg
source: https://niagara-county.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html
date: 1938

47 Fifteenth Ave., aerial photo (1938).jpg
description: Many of the upper east avenues were still unoccupied in 1938.
source: https://niagara-county.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html
date: 1938

Niagara County map, North Tonawanda as Niagara, map (1838).jpg
description: https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47db-13e2-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99
date: 1838

Tonawanda Industries: The growth of second lumber port in the world, transcription and article (Buffalo Courier, 1887-10-07).pdf
description: Good general, early description. Earliest settlers seem to only account for south-siders Lock built for Niagara-Creek access. Cleveland Commercial enterprise draws attention. McGraw opens up lumber business, which starts growing around 1870. To avoid high shipping costs, William H. Gratwick towed a massive raft full of lumber (3 million feet, or 20 canal boats' worth) from Bay City, Michigan to (North) Tonawanda over two weeks. People in the village marveled to see it. Gratwick paid the men well to see the lumber unloaded, and the incident drew attention to the Tonawandas' natural advantages as a lumber port. Other lumber firms described Box factory on Tonawanda Island ---- *AI transcriptions may contain errors, though I have done a few sanity checks* TONAWANDA INDUSTRIES. The Growth of the Second Lumber Port in the World. EARLY DAYS OF THE TOWN, A List of the Lumber Firms Doing Business There. OTHER FORMS OF BUSINESS PURSUED. The Rise in the Value of Real Estate in the Last Fifteen Years. Like Buffalo, Tonawanda owes her growth primarily to the Erie canal, which here connects with the water-supply, the Niagara river. Her harbor affords excellent facilities for the transshipment of lumber and forest-products generally to the eastern markets. Previous to 1825, when the Erie Canal was planned and surveyed to this, its western termination, there was no village, not even a hamlet, in Tonawanda. The first settlement was made in 1805 by three men, Alexander Logan, John King, and John Hershey. Henry Anguish, who in 1821 opened the first tavern at his residence, came in 1808, making his home near Tonawanda Creek, a short distance above the old Tonawanda burying ground. The only road from Tonawanda Creek to Buffalo was a rude highway extending along the Niagara shore from Buffalo to the Falls, little traveled, with nothing but a wretched scow ferry to carry wheeled vehicles over the creek. Very few settlers came, for what squatters there were on the low marshy land lying alo…
date: 1887-10-07

William H. Gratwick vessels, photos (c.1882-1900).jpg
description: Wooden steam barge, bulk freighter, package freighter and tugboats. The tugboat would sink in the Niagara River on July 16, 1900, killing the two men aboard.
date: 1882

It is a lockout now, article (Buffalo Courier, 1892-06-13).jpg
date: 1892-06-13

Union Riot at Tonawanda, New York Herald, article (1892-06-12).jpg
date: 1892-06-12

Lumber shovers strike culminates in an ugly riot, article (Buffalo Courier, 1892-06-12).jpg
date: 1892-06-12

Gratwick School pupils, teachers, parents cooperate to win trophy, article (Tonawanda News, 1948-04-17).jpg
date: 1948-04-17

Gratwick School children mobilize in safety drive, photo (Tonawanda News, 1948-04-23).jpg
date: 1948-04-23

Gratwick pupils win trophy in 62-school safety drive sponsored by bike institute, article (Tonawanda News, 1948-05-12).jpg
date: 1948-05-12

Map of North Tonawanda, Gratwick School area highlighted (c1948).jpg
description: Shows Bushes Bridge, Nor-Ton Courts, "Sweeney Park", numbered avenues from 20th-24th, and a planned Tesla and Edison Street. Not yet here: Mid-City Plaza, Wurlitzer Park, North Tonawanda High School, lots of southeast (Spruce) area development.
date: 1948

Gratwick School showing 1924 addition, photo (Marjorie Crosby thesis, 1949).jpg
date: 1924

Gratwick School playground in winter, photo (Marjorie Crosby thesis, 1949).jpg
date: 1948-11

Gratwick School faculty, photos (Marjorie Crosby thesis, 1949).jpg
date: 1948

Gratwick School before additions, photo c. 1895 (Marjorie Crosby thesis, 1949).jpg
date: 1895

Gratwick School, class photo (Cynthia Lustig, c1923).jpeg
date: 1923

Gratwick School wins county bicycle safety award, April 1948, photos (Marjorie Crosby thesis, 1949).jpg
date: 1948-04

A History of the Establishment and Development of Gratwick Elementary School, North Tonawanda, New York, 1894-1949 (Marjorie Crosby, 1949).pdf
date: 1894

Tonawanda strike over, article (New York Times, 1893-06-24).jpg
date: 1893-06-24

A terrible riot, article (Niagara Falls Gazette, 1892-06-11).jpg
description: Weston's foreman, William Wood, has a bio in Landmarks of Niagara County (1897): Wood, W.W. — This representative citizen of North Tonawanda has been connected with its lumber history and business life for the past ten years. He came here in 1887, with A.P. & W.E. Kelly from Chicago, but in 1890 entered the employ of A. Weston & Son, and had charge of the yards for four years. He laid out the second lumberyard at Tonawanda Island, now occupied by A.K. & W.E. Silverthorne, and was active in the interests of his employers during the great strike. In 1894, he went into the hotel business in the Twin City Hotel, but in April 1895, secured his present large place, Union Hotel. Mr. Wood is a prominent Republican and has been active in the interests of his party ever since coming to North Tonawanda; he is an exempt fireman and a member of the Royal Arcanum. He married Velna McMullen, and they have two children, Edward and Peter. Mrs. Wood's father was an old millman of North Tonawanda, and Mr. Wood's parents were Edward and Anna Wood; Edward Wood was long known as the "Lumber King" in Chicago.
date: 1892-06-11

Excerpts from "Fixed Bayonets - The New York State National Guard during the era of industrial unrest, 1877–1898" by Ronald Howard Kotlik, 2005.art
description: Webmaster's Note: This 2005 dissertation from a UB student examines the seven times the Guard were dispersed between 1877–1898 to mediate local labor disputes. Below are the portions related to the two visits to the Tonawandas, in June of 1892 and June of 1893. Photo: 42nd Separate Company during one of these Tonawanda deployments. Another version here. [Background of the strikes] The lumber strikes that will be discussed here in Tonawanda and Oswego both involved lumber shovers, men whose main responsibility was to handle the lumber on the docks or decks loading and unloading it from various vessels. It has been argued that shoving was extremely hard for the men especially when the same shovers worked both on the docks and served as crews on the ships. “Down the boards would come end on end on to the schooner’s deck, from the lumber shovers on the piles, to be caught and carried to the hatches, passed down to splinterfilled fists in the hold, and laid along carefully on the floor-ceiling, starting at the bilges and sides, until they mounted up to the deckbeams, like haystraws in a mow.” It has been argued that during the prime period of the lumber industry, roughly from the 1880s to 1907, attempts by lumbermen to either merge or pool their interests ultimately failed leading to abusive competition and falling prices that punished all those involved in the industry.8 This phenomenon had detrimental effects to both workers and management in the industry. “To lower expenses, lumbermen cut wages and reduced their labor force, and in communities where logging and lumber manufacturing dominated local business, there were no other industries to offset layoffs and unemployment." Tonawanda Lumber Strike of 1892 The events that resulted in the National Guard being called to Tonawanda in 1892 began with attempts by lumber handlers, whose primary job was to unload barges of lumber, to form a union to gain more control in compensation issues. The men were opposed to the stevedo…
source: "Fixed Bayonets - The New York State National Guard during the era of industrial unrest, 1877–1898" by Ronald Howard Kotlik, 2005
date: 1892

The Evolution of an Ethnic Neighborhood that Became United in Diversity - The East Side, Niagara Falls, NY, 1880-1930 (H. William Feder, 1999.pdf
description: Info about NT's role in Niagara County politics, Klan activity
date: 1999

42nd Separate Company of Niagara Falls 50th, illustrated article (Niagara Falls gazette, 1935-11-16).pdf
description: Article claims company organized in 1885 in response to need to enforce Niagara Falls State Reservation of that year. H. William Feder notes that the company also was used "to protect the investments of the coming Tunnel project," noting that "the wood frame Niagara County Armory was placed on a high vantage point [6th and Walnut] from which access to the Tunnel construction area could be observed and controlled. The 42nd Company commander was Col. Charles B. Gaskill, the president of the new Hydraulic Tunnel Corps of Army Engineers Survey. In the coming years the 42nd Company shared a complementary mythology with the military mission of Deveaux College that is worthy of review." (The Evolution of an Ethnic Neighborhood that Became United in Diversity - The East Side, Niagara Falls, NY, 1880-1930 (H. William Feder, 1999) Article also claims the company was dispatched to Tonawanda to quell labor troubles among canal men on June 14, 1862 and on June 21, 1893 (This NY Times article says the 1893 date should be June 16th).
date: 1935-11-16

Lone Star Wurlitzer Jukebox Model 416, photo (1937).jpeg
date: 1937

Hugo with player piano at Wurlitzer factory, photo (c.1915).jpeg
date: 1915

Frontier Beer label, Tonawanda, (c.1940).jpg
date: 1940

Clear the Track, Buffalo Sled Company, illustrated ad (Saturday Evening Post, 1917).jpeg
date: 1917

Chief of Police, John F. Ryan, photo and bio (Tonawanda News, 1903-04-20).jpg
date: 1903-04-20

Charles E Hewitt Jr, Publisher of the News, dies, article (Tonawanda News, 1947-08-12).pdf
date: 1947-08-12

Captain's Quarters, 248 Oliver, ad (Tonawanda News, 1947-04-04).jpg
date: 1947-04-04

Twin City Service Station, Tydol, Weatherbest Shingles, pamphlet (c.1920).jpg
date: 1920

Ray Bennett Lumber Co., catalog excertps (c1928).jpeg
date: 1928

North Tonawanda Fire Dept certificate, Frank Ensminger (1930-05-07).jpg
date: 1930-05-07

Ziehl notes.txt
description: 1903 Ziehl's General Store (Martinsville) listed in Ton News 1910 Ferdinand Ziehl of Martinsville juror, politician 1916 Louis A Ziehl Foreman on Rescue Fire officer 1936 - Mr and Mrs Walter Ziehl Klemer Rd. Obits: Beiter, Matilda E. (Ziehl) Died September 1981 Ton. News 9/9/81 Dischinger, Carol (nee Ziehl) March 1965 Picture Ensminger, Ida (nee Ziehl) Died August 30, 1981 Ton. News 8/31/81 Gau, Marion Z. (nee Ziehl) d. Dec. 6, 2010 Bflo. News 12-7-2010 Ton. News 12-7 & 8-2010 Hosmer, Doris V. (nee Ziehl) Died June 6, 1989 Ton. News 6/7/89 White Chapel Ziehl, Alice P. (nee Wurl) d.May 9, 1981 Ton.News 5-11-1981 Ziehl, Alma E. (nee Boening) d. Sept. 6, 1961 age 86 Ton.News 9-7-1961 p.11 9-8-1961 p.12 Acacia Park Cem. Ziehl, Andrew W. Nov.1965 Ziehl, Augusta, Mrs. d.May 31, 1930 Ton.News 5-31-1930 6-2-1930 Ziehl, Beatrice M. d.June 12, 1950 ton.News 6-13-1950 p.7 Resthaven Ziehl, Carl d.May 15, 1901 Ton.News 5-16-1901 p.1 Ziehl, Carl J. Mar.27, 1975 Ton.News Ziehl, Curt C. d.June 4, 1992 Ton.News 6-5-1992 Ziehl, Daughter of Mr.&Mrs.F.Ziehl d.Dec.20, 1893 Ton.News 12-22-1893 p.3 Ziehl, Dorothy E. (nee Arnts) d.Mar.26,2007 Ton.News 3-28-2007 Ziehl, Edward d.Apr.5, 1938 Ton.News 4-5-1938 p.3 Ziehl, Eleanor d.Dec.1, 1897 Ton.News 12-1-1897 p.1 Ziehl, Elton d.July 10,2001 Ton.News 7-11-01 Acacia Park Ziehl, Emma (nee Peters) d.May 6, 1953 Ton.News 5-6-1953 p.19 White Chapel Ziehl, Ferdinand d.Dec.4, 1945 Ton.News 12-5-1945 p.4 Ziehl, Fred d.Jan.19, 1949 Ton.News 1-19-1949 p.8 Ziehl, Fred d.Feb.23, 1901 Ton.News 2-25-1901 p.1 Ziehl, Gerald R. Jan.10,2000 Ton.News 1-12-2000 Ziehl, Gustav d.Dec.24, 1951 Ton.News 12-24-1951 p.9 12-26-1951 p.7 Resthaven Ziehl, Jeffrey Walter d.Oct.4, 1951 Ton.News 10-5-1951 p.7 St. Paul's Lutheran Cem. Ziehl, John d. May 5, 1963 age 74 Ton.News 5-7-1963 p.13 white Chapel Ziehl, John d. Dec.12, 1943 Ton.News 12-13-1943 p.5 St.Paul's Cem. Ziehl, Louis A. d.Sept.5, 1981 Ton.News 9-7-1981 Ziehl, Lovina W.(nee Aderman) d.Aug.26, 1993 Ton.News 8-27-1…

Ziehl - Four generations survive Marie A. Ziehl, article (Ton News. 1926-07-17).jpg
date: 1926-07-17

Ziehl's Groceries and Meats, 356 Falls Blvd, ad (Ton News, 1935-02-20).jpg
date: 1935-02-20

Union Trading Stamps merchants, including F. Ziehl, ad (1904-03-29).jpg
date: 1904-03-29

Louis A Ziehl, groceries and deliveries, 356 and 748 Falls Blvd., ad (Ton News, 1931-05-12).jpg
date: 1931-05-12

Herds destroyed at Martinsville, foot and mouth disease, Ziehl and Schultz, article (Ton News, 1908-12-11).jpg
date: 1908-12-11

Genuine values are offered at Ziehl's, article (Ton News, 1935-02-06).jpg
date: 1935-02-06

F. Ziehl & Son Groceries, Martinsville, photos (August 1918).jpg
description: Courtesy of Scott Ensminger, who writes: "Someone gave me this photo many years ago. I was told F. Ziehl & Son Groceries was in Martinsville. Person 6 is my grandmother." In the undated family photo, she is second from right.
date: 1918

356 Old Falls Blvd (former Ziehl's Groceries, Schwartz's Deli) photo (Google Maps c2022).jpg
date: 2022

Souvenir program, NTPD Fourth Annual Ball, excerpts (1928-04-20).jpg
description: Includes photographs of Commissioner William A. Kohl, Judge Edward B. Harrington; ads for Walsand Dairy, Hamilton Transfer Company, Wurlitzer and Durez.
date: 1928

Clear the Track, Buffalo Sled Company, illustrated ad (1917).jpeg

Auto Wheel Coaster, photo and art detail (c.1925).jpeg
date: 1925

Auto Wheel Coaster, Buffalo Sled Company, ad (c.1916).jpg
date: 1916

INSIDE photo tour of former Gilmore School, North Tonawanda (2023).jpg
description: The Board of Education is now headquartered in the southern part of the building, while the Christian Academy uses the original section. The repurposed elementary school retains many of its original interior features. Pictured are the cafeteria, gymnasium, the "breezeway" (which connected the original and new sections), the boys' bathroom, the principal's office door and sign, the original entrance from the inside, a renovated kindergarten classroom, and the northwest entrance. Two historic keepsakes from other former North Tonawanda schools are on display: the bell from the demolished Ironton School (according to my tour guide), and a stone salvaged from the 1866 Goundry Street School. The school in the photo accompanying the bell doesn't look like the Ironton School to me, but I may be wrong. According to this 1905 article, the bell hung in the area's first district school (later the site of the parsonage of the 1st M.E. Church) from 1831 until the 1870s, then was used a few years later in a second district school at the corner of Dahlgren and Wheatfield, before moving to the Ironton School in 1890.
date: 2023-03-08

Niagara Silk Mills, postcard (c.1905).jpg
date: 1905

To drain wet spot on Felton Field, article (1933-04-12).jpg
date: 1933-04-12

Television schedule, Tonawanda News (1976-01-27).jpg
date: 1976-01-27

North Tonawanda lots at a great sacrifice, avenues near Payne, ad (Tonawanda News, 1917-04-01).jpg
date: 1917-04-01