Liberace poster, Melody Fair, poster (c1975).jpeg
Band of gypsies chased out of town by police, article (Tonawanda News, 1931-04-23).jpg
Was only a joke, article (Buffalo Express, 1917-04-05).jpg
Story of arrest of plotters here a joke, article (Lockport Sun-Journal, 1917-04-05).jpg
Bernhart Voelcker apology for April Fool Prank, article (Tonawanda News, 1917-04-04).jpg
People outside Tonawanda Brewing Company, colorized photo (c1918).jpg
Calkins and Co. Planing Mill, Tonawanda, envelope (1889).jpeg
Construction of model homes to start in Wurlitzer Park, article (Tonawanda News, 1957-06-14).jpg
Trolley line fill is nearly finished, article (Tonawanda News, 1917-10-05).jpg
Trolley line fill is about finished, Buffalo Equipment & Construction Company, article (Tonawanda News, 1917-09-18).jpg
Suspected of bold hold-up, Michael Pilsky, article (Tonawanda News, 1916-11-13).jpg
Struck man over head with shovel, article (Tonawanda News, 1916-11-27).jpg
Progress on New Railroad, article (Tonawanda News, 1916-11-17).jpg
New trolley line running in spring, article (Tonawanda News, 1917-11-12).jpg
High Speed Line historical marker in Fisherman's Park, photo (2015).jpeg
Has only two fingers and two thumbs left, William Curran, article (Tonawanda News, 1917-12-18).jpg
Firemen put out small grass fire, Buffalo Equipment and Construction Co., article (Tonawanda News, 1916-12-02).jpg
Buffalo Equipment & Construction Co., photo set (c. 1916).png
Contracted to build the embankment for the High Speed Line. Corner of Robinson and Division.
VIDEO: A Factory Tour, Former Artizan Factories Inc. (2017).mov
I take a walk around the interior of the North Tonawanda, New York factory built by the 1922-1930 band organ and office furniture makers.
Family and dog, Grand Island excursions, postcard (c.1910).jpg
Shea's Riviera Theater 67 Webster, Tonawanda 1931.jpeg
42nd Separate Company of Niagara Falls, stationed in Tonawandas, photos (c.1892-1893).jpg
This company, formed in 1885 at the establishment of the Niagara Falls State Reservation, came out to the Tonawandas to protect private property twice as lumber shovers attempted to unionize (June of 1892 and 1893). Learn more about these labor troubles and the use of the Guard in the Tonawandas in "Fixed Bayonets: The New York State National Guard during the era of industrial unrest, 1877-1898," an excellent thesis in history by Ronald Kotlik.
Men near North Tonawanda train station, photo (c1923).jpg
Letter of William Williams describing Tonawanda's prospects, transcription (1835-04-21).jpg
A marvelous 1835 firsthand account of conditions at Tonawanda from accomplished Utica bookseller / publisher / engraver / anti-mason / abolitionist and civic-minded Presbyterian William Williams (1787 - 1850). Wiliams describes to his lawyer the land purchases and improvements he and others made south of the Creek beginning in 1823, White's investments, the remaining native lumber, the flooding and more. In 1834 Williams fell into financial debt with his creditors, while also owing back taxes, and had many of his effects sold at Sheriff's auctions, while creditors ran his store, still under his name, seeking compensation.[61] By 1836 he sold his bookstore and moved his family to Tonawanda in Erie County to manage an estate of which he was part owner with his father-in-law, Henry Huntington, of Rome. Wikipedia In earlier letters found online (February 11th & 14th 1832) he is traveling from Buffalo to Canandaigua to assist with the anti-cholera effort, although he is sick himself: "I reached this place [Buffalo] last evening after a painful day's ride from Canandaigua. My sickness at my stomach came on soon after we started; and vomited a great deal; but without much relief, tho' I went without eating through the day except a cup of coffee and a cracker or two." He recalls the recent passing of his first wife, with whom he had 14 children, writing "The last letter Sophia wrote me at this place [Buffalo], reminds me that her hand is cold." Williams is gravely injured falling off the top of a stage coach around 1845. Returns to Utica and is buried there after his death in 1850. -- Transcription of beginning and end of 1835 letter: -- Tonawanda April 21, 1835 H. Huntington, Esq. Respected and Dear Sir, Your favor of 11th inst was this morning received, postmarked 13th inst. In the original purchase of Lots No. 84 & 85 there were four equal undivided shares, Townsend & Coit, Latham A. Burrows, A.H. Tracy and myself. In 1829 we mutually made a partition, Townsend & Coit and A.H. Tracy taking that part of the village plot, excepting 3½ acres, which lies north of the canal, about 35 ¾ acres, Burrows taking a small Block of village lots lying north of the canal and between the side cut into the Niagara River, and the toll bridge and on the guard lock, embracing one acre and a half as his proportion of said Lots Nos. 84 & 85, on condition that I should finish a wharf previously commenced, when we were joint owners, on his giving 6 mo. notice after he had built a tavern house and outhouses worth not less than three thousand dollars. The balance of the Tonawanda joint property came into my hands except some village lots previously sold and a few on which articles had been issued; say in all about three acres more. Burrows having erected his tavern house and given me notice that the wharfing must be done, to accommodate the Steamboat that has engaged to enter the mouth of the Tonawanda creek, I am redeeming my engagement with him, and as I think benefitting my own property at the same time. I did not intend to convey the idea in my last letter that I was to superintend the work. Mr. James Walker who has been employed in similar works at Buffalo harbor has the job. This explanation appeared necessary to correct an impression probably made by my careless mention of an expenditure of six six hundred dollars for wharfing. It is not safe to come into the Tonawanda without a wharf and snubbing posts, there not being room to swing around in the creek, without these advantages in handling the Boat. At times I fear you will regard me as visionary altogether in my expectations of this locality ever becoming a place of business. Without foreign capital it never will; but the Island owners have already embarked so much, that, with their amples means they are not likely to back out. Their steam saw mill occupies 22,500 square feet, four stories, & including the attic. It has generally been valued to have cost them 80,000 dollars, whereas it has really cost them but 34,000, as their agent informs me. Their lands were purchased for less than the original sale by the state some ten years since; the average cost being under five dollars. They have the fee to all except ten or fourteen hundred acres. The survey by the state made about 19,000 acres of all the islands. These prominent features of their purchase and improvement show well. Practical men are embarked in the undertaking which is the most favorable to its perpetuity as well as productiveness. Their desire to purchase more land indicates confidence. They cut no trees but those which have come to perfection or are not worth preserving for future use. By thinning out the large oaks the young ones have a vigorous & rapid growth secured them. All the timber of small value is cut and split into seam fuel [Much more rich detail about trees and cultivation.] As the country clears up it improves in other respects, particularly as to the banishment of [intermittent?] fevers, and will one day be as healthy as the banks of the Delaware or Hudson; at present it is far otherwise. Much of its unhealthiness, however, is owing to the dissipations and otherwise improvident modes of living. I have never enjoyed better health anywhere than at this same badly reputed place. Yet it is in an Ague & Fever country beyond any controversy, for at least five months in the year. I am truly yours, William Williams
Is the mushroom ride dangerous?, Astro Park, article (Tonawanda News, 1979-07-09).jpg
Fire department and police-related photo set, c1930.jpg
Simon Kijowski, obit (Tonawanda News, 1955-06-01).jpg
Women at Buffalo Bolt, Mary Kijowski, photo (c1943-05).jpg
War Manpower Commission postcard to Mary Kijowski (1943-03-11).jpg
Szymon Kijowski Family farming, probably around 15th Ave, photo (c1935).jpg
Szymon Kijowski Family at 47 15th Ave, photo (c1933).jpg
Szymon Kijowski Family, horses and carriage down unknown street (c1936).jpg
Szymon Kijowski and gentlemen with liquor and cigars, photo (c1920).jpg
Szymon and Paulina Kijowski with daughter Mary, photo (c1931).jpg
Stanley Kijowski, athletic club shirt, photo (c1935).jpg
Polish falcon on stage, unknown, postcard, writing on back (c 1955).jpg
Niagara Silk Mills - Solk Gloves, postcard (c1920).jpg
Mary Konstanty (Kijowski) reading newspaper, photo (c1980).jpg
Mary Kijowski on tractor, possibly Avenues, photo (c1945).jpg
Mary Kijowski on farm with father Szymon, possibly Avenues, photo (c1940).jpg
Mary Kijowski on couch, photo (1960-05).jpg
Mary Kijowski in Rosie the Riveter getup, photo (c1944).jpg
Mary Kijowski in a military uniform, photo (c1945).jpg
Mary Kijowski ice skating again, photo (c1948).jpg
Mary Kijowski ice skating, photo (c1948).jpg
Mary Kijowski at 47 15th Avenue, photo (c1933).jpg
Mary Kijowski and children, photo (c1960).jpg
Konstantys and Kijowski drinking in backyard, photo (c1953).jpg
Joseph Kijowski playing accordion, photo (c1950).jpg
Joseph Kijowski playing accordion, photo (c1940).jpg
John and Mary Konstanty, wedding photo (1952-09-27 at OLC).jpg
John and Mary Konstanty, wedding at OLC, photos (1952-09-27).jpg
Mary and John Konstanty, sweetheart photos (c1950).jpg
John and Mary Konstanty, marriage license (1952-09-27).jpg
Benjamin Kijowski in a baseball uniform, photo (1940-05-19).jpg
Appears to be Felton Field (along Thompson Street east of Vandervoort).
Probable cause of blast found, article, transcription (Tonawanda News, 1920-12-07 2653).pdf
**PROBABLE CAUSE OF BLAST FOUND** Power House Explosion Attributed to Holes Burned in Oil Tanks. **RESULTED FROM AN ARC** Negligence Displayed in Leaving Blocks of Wood in Transformers— Might Have Been Responsible for Short Circuit, Witness Says. Coroner Layman H. Wheeler, Eastport shortly before 9 o'clock this morning closed the inquest into the power house disaster on Robinson street on October 31, in which the explosion cost thirteen lives. The coroner says decision will be the next report on the case connected with the inquiry. There is a large amount of evidence to be given consideration and it is probable that it will be at least a week or more before Dr. Wheeler or others can decide. He will hire the assistance of Charles E. Feldman, a mechanical and electrical engineer, in arriving at a decision as to the conditions which existed at the transformer at the time of the explosion. Witnesses have been giving their evidence daily, and it is the general opinion of those concerned in the examination that the cause of the explosion was due to the presence of blocks of wood in the transformers. "That a short circuit caused the explosion has not been taken for granted judging by various statements by the officials in examining witnesses on the possibility of this causing the power house trouble," Numerous witnesses have been referred to as to what might have caused this short circuit but just where it happened none of the witnesses have been able to state definitely. The general trend of the evidence has tended to show that the trouble arose in the switching towers of the Niagara Falls Power Company and then in the transformer house of the south side of the Tonawanda Power Company's substation. George D. Banks, a winding room employee of the General Electric Company of Schenectady who had tested the new transformers when they started, was present at the time of the explosion. He testified of having noticed that the blocks of wood were similar to those placed in the transformers when they were shipped from the General Electric Company's factory and were meant for packing purposes. He said that the presence of these blocks in the transformers after the current was turned on is a sign the current may have caused those in the switching tower to have started in the lower part of the transformer where the actual short occurred. All these have not been considered ... Continued on Page Five --- **PROBABLE CAUSE OF BLAST FOUND** *Continued from Page One* it negligence on the part of the persons engaged in setting up the apparatus that these blocks were not removed. He said it was customary to send out instructions with transformers but was not certain if any were sent with those installed in the switching tower to take care of the extra load of electricity which the local company was preparing to handle through its station. Arthur J. Jones of Niagara Falls, having charge of the installation of the transformers for the Niagara Falls Power Company, testified that no instructions were received with the machines. He said that no test was made of the generators before they were installed and declared that they were kept where it was dry from the time they were received from the factory until installed, asserting that there was no opportunity for dampness or water to get into the machines. He said a test of the oil, used in cooling the transformers, was made and that it was found to withstand the usual test. No examination of the transformers was made by the witness or anyone else before they were installed, according to Mr. Jones. He testified to finding evidence after the accident of an arc having passed from the coil to the tank, but did not consider it sufficient to throw out the oil. What may prove the most important evidence furnished by any of the witnesses who testified was that given by Mr. Hardie, who was examined by Coroner Wheeler as the last witness at the inquest. Mr. Hardie in compliance with the request of the coroner to relate what discoveries and conclusions he reached as a result of an examination made by him of the switching tower and the apparatus after the accident, told of having found that an inch had burned holes through the bottom of both oil tanks. They were so small, however, that only the most careful observation would disclose them, each being about the size of a led pencil. The inference was drawn that the burning of the holes through the tanks was what caused the explosion and the oil to be thrown about the switch tower, setting fire to the men's clothing. Before Mr. Hardie testified Coroner Wheeler read the ante-mortem statements of Albert S. Allen, Sam Derby and William Ward, all of whom lost their lives. The statements covered little more than a page and a half of typewritten matter, the substance of the statements having been printed in a previous issue of the Gazette. They made no mention of anything except the matters which were contained in the original report in the Gazette. The missing matter is not given in the witness' testimony. Mr. Hardie told the coroner that he had a hunch to examine the transformers on the west side of the tower and soon found that there had been an arc in one of them. He also found that the oil was in the wooden troughs under the transformer but said that it was free from water. He further said that all of the wood in the troughs of this transformer was burnt up and the transformer was full of carbon. This transformer is used to step up the current from 2,300 volts to 22,000 volts, which is the pressure carried by the tower. There are three switches in the tower, Mr. Hardie said. He examined two of these switches and found the wires on one of them burned. The third switch is a disconnecting switch. He said that when he examined it he found that the handle of the switch had melted and also the wire ends. The switch is placed at the lowest part of the tower, the high tension wires entering this switch at the top and passing down to the lower switch. Evidence was given by other witnesses as to the nature of the wounds received by the men who were burned by the oil. In all cases there were slight burns on the upper part of the body, but the greatest damage was done to the legs and arms. There was no evidence that any of the men were knocked out by an explosion. It was further brought out that the Falls company’s electric tower, through which the power enters Tonawanda, had nothing whatever to do with the fire or explosion. There are three lines entering this tower, 22,000 volts, 13,200 volts, and 2,300 volts. The fire or explosion, the evidence has shown, could not possibly have been caused by the 13,200 volts line, as it would only have caused a burn in case the man was on the line where the wire entered. The Tonawanda company's switch board is the highest line, 22,000 volts, entering the tower and this line is only 14 inches from the wall, making it impossible for any person to get in contact with the line, which is well insulated. George S. Wisner, the only employee of the Tonawanda Power Company to survive the accident, was called to the witness stand and told of the manner in which he was injured. His story corroborated the statements of other witnesses. [End of transcription]
The Rocket That Ignited Union Park (Iowa Heritage Illustrated, 2001).pdf
Article includes background and excerpt from a catalog for the Miracle Company's amusement ride products in the "Astro City" line. North Tonawanda residents may remember seeing some of these in Astro Park on Gilmore Ave in the 1980s (in 2022 called "Alligator Park").
Tonawanda Senecas' Heroic Battle Against Removal sunypress).pdf
Pearl L Bergoff, King of Strikebreakers, dies, photo (c1947).jpg
Papers Relating to the Burning of Buffalo, and to the Niagara Frontier Prior to and During the War Of 1812 (Buffalo Historical Society).pdf
Mirror Room, 728 Oliver, polkas, hot band, ad (Tonawanda News, 1952-02-01).jpg
Herschell Spillman Sixes, ad (Automobile Trade Journal, 1913).jpg
The War of 1812 and the Tonawanda Block House
Parts of the War of 1812 are fought right on our front porch, as tensions grow between the United States and the British colonies (including Canada). The U. S. military builds a guard-house (or blockhouse) on the south shore of Tonawanda Creek in 1811 (Lossing). From History of Erie County: Just before the War of 1812, a block-house was built on the south side of Tonawanda creek, near its mouth. In August of that year it contained sixteen soldiers. A rumor got abroad that the British and Indians had taken possession of Grand Island and might, perhaps, cross to the mainland. The few men of the vicinity were called to the guard-house; a day or two later several hundred British Indians appeared on the shore of Grand Island opposite Tonawanda. The soldiers and citizens were turned out and after parading in sight of the enemy were marched back, and then reappeared with their coats turned wrong side out, to impress the enemy with the idea that a new force had arrived. Whether on account of this strategy, or for other reasons, the Indians did not attempt to cross the river. * One of the soldiers who serves in the blockhouse is Colonel John Sweeney. (Brother James settled in Buffalo in 1811 [ Landmarks]). He will later be wounded in the first serious engagement in Queenston, part of a failed multi-pronged offensive against British Canada. The long-expected war comes on December 19, 1813, when the British launch a surprise attack across the Niagara River, landing first at Youngstown. They quickly take Fort Niagara. Two days later, they (or their Indian allies, as some historians state) burn villages and terrorize villagers all the way to Tonawanda Creek, stopping only when they encounter the bridge across Tonawanda Creek burned by retreating Americans and possibly Wilcox and the Canadian Volunteers. From Lossing's Pictorial Field Book: The whole Niagara frontier on the American side, from Fort Niagara to Tonewanta Creek, a distance of thirty-six miles, and far into the interior, was swept with the besom of destruction placed by British authority in the hands of savage pagans. Manchester, Schlosser, and Tuscarora Village shared the fate of Youngstown and Lewiston. Free course was given to the blood-thirsty Indians, and many innocent persons were butchered, and survivors were made to fly in terror through the deep snow to some forest shelter or remote cabin of a settler far beyond the invaders' track. Buffalo, too, would have been plundered and destroyed had not the progress of the foe been checked by the timely destruction of the bridge over the Tonewanta Creek. Babcock, in his War of 1812 on the Niagara Frontier, also puts the bridge destruction on the 21st, but does not mention Wilcox and the Volunteers: On December 21st, Riall pressed on and burned the buildings at Manchester (Niagara Falls) and Fort Schlosser. Major Mallory feebly opposed the advance and then retreated on Buffalo and the British were not checked until they reached the bridge over Tonawanda Creek which had been destroyed by the retiring Americans. Riall then withdrew his column to the other side of the river. While this was occurring details destroyed the mills and dwellings for a considerable distance along the Ridge Road and the shores of Lake Ontario. Such are the bald facts covering the acts of the British forces during a period of four days. Not only had Youngstown, Lewiston, Manchester, Schlosser and the outlying farms been given over to the torch, but the western Indians had been turned loose to ravish and murder innocent women and children. Another account, from History of Erie County, puts the burning of the Tonawanda guard-house around 12/26, and does not mention the British being stymied by a burned bridge. An interesting mention is made of a north side "log tavern" spared by the British, in what would have been present-day North Tonawanda: About a week later, just before the attack on Buffalo, a detachment of the enemy came up from the captured fort, burning every building along the road. They burned the guard-house before mentioned, and all the other buildings in the vicinity, with one exception. There was no village, but there were a few log farm-houses scattered along the road, and we believe, a log tavern on the north side of the creek. The building which was not burned was occupied by Mrs. Francis (a daughter of Robert Simson,) who was sick and unable to flee. Her house was set on fire three times, and each time she crawled downstairs and extinguished the flames; probably the house was of logs, and did not burn easily. Treaty of Ghent is signed in late 1813, essentialy a stalemate between the two powers. (Battle of New Orleans January 1814, before news arrives.) -- From the New York State Military Museum and Veterans Research Center: Tonawanda Blockhouse: 1812, Erie County, Tonawanda. One small blockhouse existed on the south shore of the Tonawanda Creek at the War of 1812. A trick with marching troops prevented attack in 1812, but in December 1813 the blockhouse and unnamed settlement were burned. The settlement eventually became Niagara Village and later split into Tonawanda (Erie County) and North Tonawanda (Niagara County). See also: Video and this video about the role of blockhouses in the War of 1812.
Wrestler Gene Stanley to preach at Avondale Theater, ad (Ton News, 1955-09-24).jpg
W. B. McKay, Salvation-Healing Revival, ad (Tonawanda News, 1956-04-20).jpg
Flying saucers, Billy Wolfe, Avondale Theater, ad (Tonawanda News, 1956-05-25).jpg
Avondale Ballroom Grand Re-Opening, ad (Ton News. 1985-03-27).jpg
Former site of 358 Oliver, photo (2022).jpg
Zillion at Avaondale Ballroom, ad (Tonawanda News, 1985-01-10).jpg
Purchase of Avondale Theater completed, photo (Tonawanda News, 1956-10-25).jpg
Old Avondale to be ballroom, article (Tonawanda News, 1984-12-13).jpg
Evangelical Center, Mr. Ezzo, photo (Tonawanda News, 1979-03-22).jpg
Daniel A. North, Avondale Theater operator, obit (Tonawanda News, 1963-09-03).jpg
Avondale manager Daniel North showing improvement after severe burns, article (Tonawanda News, 1936-01-13).jpg
Avondale baseball team active 1910-1915, photo (c. 1910).jpg
Avondale Ballroom opens, article (Tonawanda News, 1985-04-01).jpg
Evangelistic Center, 358 Oliver, ad (Tonawanda News, 1969-12-21).jpg
Auction livens up Friday night in NT, article (Tonawanda News, 1979-12-01).jpg
21 year-old evangelist John D. Occhipinti, former professional accordionist and band leader, ad (Tonawanda News, 1961-02-14).jpg
Yes, he's on Twitter and YouTube
Former 870 Oliver, photo (Google, 2021).jpg
Wastes whole barrel of oil, article (Ton News. 1915-11-19).jpg
Luke B. Buck kills himself by swallowing laudanum, article (Buffalo News, 1913-12-15).jpg
Elected Democrats, Herman Schroeder, article (Ton News, 1908-04-01).jpg
Schroeder given verdict of $250, article (Ton News, 1912-01-04).jpg
The Schroeder Family, typed recollection (Loretta Schroeder-Parske, 1996).htm
Loretta Schroeder describes the Oliver Street saloon her father ran just outside the gates of Buffalo Bolt, on the northwest corner of East and Oliver. These papers were collected by her family. The boathouse pictured may have been the one on the Niagara "just south of Edgewater landing" described in <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%25201916%2520Jan-Sep%2520Grayscale%2FNorth%2520Tonawanda%2520NY%2520Evening%2520News%25201916%2520Jan-Sep%2520Grayscale%2520-%25200060.pdf%23xml%3Dhttps%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FdtSearch%2Fdtisapi6.dll%3Fcmd%3Dgetpdfhits%26u%3D33a98d99%26DocId%3D1960481%26Index%3DZ%253a%255cDISK%2520U%26HitCount%3D19%26hits%3D20%2Bdf%2B153%2B1ca%2B240%2B274%2B280%2B329%2B32a%2B37e%2B462%2B4cf%2B50d%2B6b0%2Bc78%2Bc91%2B1341%2B1346%2B134f%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%25201916%2520Jan-Sep%2520Grayscale%2FNorth%2520Tonawanda%2520NY%2520Evening%2520News%25201916%2520Jan-Sep%2520Grayscale%2520-%25200060.pdf&xml=https%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FdtSearch%2Fdtisapi6.dll%3Fcmd%3Dgetpdfhits%26u%3D33a98d99%26DocId%3D1960481%26Index%3DZ%253a%255cDISK%2520U%26HitCount%3D19%26hits%3D20%2Bdf%2B153%2B1ca%2B240%2B274%2B280%2B329%2B32a%2B37e%2B462%2B4cf%2B50d%2B6b0%2Bc78%2Bc91%2B1341%2B1346%2B134f%2B%26SearchForm%3D%252fFulton%255fform%252ehtml%26.pdf&openFirstHlPage=false">this January 14, 1916 Tonawanda News article. Courtesy of Dan Bille.
Mary Jo Vandervoort in Boston to her husband William in Tonawanda, letter (1853-08-01).png
The Remington Rand Strike of 1936, thesis (Bagenstos, H. J. (2022).pdf
Remington-Rand Pickers attack strikebreakers bus, photo (1936-06-02).jpg
News agency caption reads: "Determined to halt entrance of strikebreakers into the Remington-Rand plant at Tonawanda, N. Y., strikers above are shown as they stage an attack on a bus bearing workers to the plant. They attempted to rip out ignition wires before police and deputy sheriffs dispersed them by a free use of clubs."
Remington Rand strikers, flyer (Erie County Committee Communist Party, 1936-05).jpg
From the files of the North Tonawanda Police Department
Niagara (Myths and Legends of Our Own Land, Charles M. Skinner, 1896)
The legend of the sacrificial Indian maiden plunging over Niagara Falls in a white canoe will be familiar to Western New Yorkers. A prose version is recorded in this excerpt from an 1896 book. The legend's veracity is questioned by Libby Tucker, in Voices: The Journal of New York Folklore (2012): The source of these stories is Brooklyn journalist Charles M. Skinner's Myths and Legends of Our Own Land (1896), which presents early American legends without clear source citations. "Niagara," a narrative attributed to the well-known explorer La Salle, identifies the Falls as "the Thundering Water," a mighty and loud-voiced spirit that demands two victims every year. Skinner explains that the Native people sent a beautiful young woman in a white canoe over the Falls for the last time in 1679 after Chief Eagle Eye's daughter, Lelawala, was chosen to be sacrificed to Niagara. After Lelawala's white canoe full of flowers and fruit began to drift toward the Falls, her grief-stricken father jumped into his own canoe and tried to save her. He was, of course, too late; he and his daughter both perished, and she became the famous Maid of the Mist in a "crystal heaven" deep beneath the roaring Falls. Since the publication of Skinner's Myths and Legends, researchers have debunked La Salle's record of human sacrifice to Niagara Falls. As far as we can tell, La Salle wanted to depict the Haudenosaunee people as superstitious folks in need of help from their European colonizers. In my own research on ghost stories of New York, I have found countless legends of sad "Indian princesses" who died tragically. Such legends recall our state's colonial past while offering sensational details to entertain listeners. In 1846, the "Maid of the Mist" corporation started a boat ride at Niagara Falls, and Skinner's legend of human sacrifice became part of the boat ride. Telling this legend to thousands of tourists did not, of course, seem right to New York's Haudenosaunee people. Such notables as Corn Planter and Handsome Lake corrected the legend to make it a teaching story of sacred origin. The Maid, who is never sacrificed, attempts suicide and is rescued by the Thunder Beings of the Falls. After learning the creator's teachings from the Thunder Beings, she returns as a spirit to share important knowledge to keep her people safe. Unfortunately, legends of an Indian maiden's sacrifice at Niagara Falls still abound on the Internet. This ghost story from a colonial past has not changed as quickly as one might hope it would. There are, however, Internet versions in which the sacrificed maiden returns as a spirit to instruct and save her people. See also: Birch Bark Legends of Niagara, by Owahyah The Legend of the White Canoe, by William Trumbull; with Photgravures from Designs by F. V. DuMond (1894) The Maiden of the Mist, an Indian Legend, by John R. Barlow's (1906) Niagra's rainbow; the legend of the white canoe / by Willard Parker; illustrations by Mary Muse Fletcher (1922)
Buffalo Norsemen schedule card (1975).png
Special movie films for children's week, AJ Speedwak of the Strand, article (Tonawanda News, 1921-04-23).jpg
Niagara Silk Mills, postcard (c1910).jpeg
Niagara Maid silk gloves, Louise Gunning, postcard (1910).jpg
Former site of Niagara Silk Mills (Gateway Center).jpg
Former Mitch's Del-Taco (474 Oliver Street), photo (Google Maps).jpg
District Steam Heating idea had its inception in 1877, article, ads (Tonawanda News, 1929-08-21).jpg
Allan Herschell Company Paint & Storage Room, postcard (HCFM, 1991).jpg
King Construction Company, map detail (c1955).jpg
King Greenhouses, King Construction Company, ad (1925).jpeg
King Construction Company greenhouses, ad (Country Life, 1927-04).jpeg
Joshua Pettit, Vanslicke, G Burger and others on census (1810).jpg
Joshua Pettit, Garret Van Slyke, James Carney and others on census (1820).jpg
Labels for glass negatives, Cumming Family photo collection -_72A6399_.jpg
These are the glass negatives in their original envelopes. The photo titles come from what was written on these envelopes wherever possible.
Boathouse gang, Gratwick slip, colorized (1905).jpg
Woman with wheelbarrow [no caption] -_72A6383_.jpg
William A. Cumming, cap and coat -_72A6368_.jpg
Tress and Silvia dress up in boy cloths [sic] -_72A6386_.jpg
Tress. outside of J? house, taken off photo -_72A6358_.jpg
side view of house, Mable standing - Mable moved -_72A6395_.jpg
Side view house, mother and father standing -_72A6382_.jpg
Mr. + Mrs. King, faces very dark -_72A6389_.jpg
Miss Hubbard, Pajama Girl -_72A6396_.jpg
Mable, low neck, 3-4 view -_72A6366_.jpg
Mabel and Edna Cumming -_72A6369_ (c1890).jpg
Jesie(?) school boy, taken from photo -_72A6392_ (c1900).jpg
J.F.C. (summer girl) [All crossed out] -_72A6380_.jpg
Cummings house (130 Fredericka Street)-_72A6360_.jpg
Boat house gang, Ora draped -_72A6373_.jpg
Bert sitting reading paper -_72A6378_.jpg
Bert layin in croquet ground -_72A6371_.jpg
Bert Cumming, hat and coat -_72A6381_.jpg
Bert, Ida, James baby pictures, taken from a photo -_72A6362_ (c1883).jpg
Bert, baby picture, taken from tintype -_72A6363_ (c 1880).jpg
Bert + Treassa in old(?) suits Bert siting [sic] down -_72A6384_.jpg
Boathouse Gang - Bert + Treassa? in solid? suit standing up -_72A6377_.jpg
130 Fredericka Street, North Tonawanda, NY -_72A6462_.jpg
130 Fredericka Street, North Tonawanda, NY -_72A6461_.jpg
Woman with bicycle [no caption] - -_72A6351_.jpg
Gratwick slip, boathoses, map (1951).jpg
Boathouses along Gratwick Slip, photo from article (Tonawanda News, 1962-12-04).jpg
Frontier Brewery, photo (Tonawanda News, 1947-05-08).jpg
THE TWIN CITIES: A History of Tonawanda and North Tonawanda Mrs. Elias Root (1925).htm
Mrs. Catherine B. Root (nee Boughton) completes a wonderful history of North Tonawanda in 1925, but never publishes it. She dies in 1933. Her history finally sees the light of day in 1947 when it is published in chapters in the Tonawanda News beginning April 25. Chapters i. Introduction Early History Indian Migrations Traced in Frontier Area French explorers gambled for big stakes on the frontier <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%25201947%2520Grayscale%2FNorth%2520Tonawanda%2520NY%2520Evening%2520News%25201947%2520Grayscale%2520-%25201089.pdf%23xml%3Dhttps%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FdtSearch%2Fdtisapi6.dll%3Fcmd%3Dgetpdfhits%26u%3D117895ff%26DocId%3D2048109%26Index%3DZ%253a%255cDISK%2520U%26HitCount%3D24%26hits%3D36%2B37%2B161%2B33a%2B36a%2B36f%2B5e7%2B5fe%2B605%2B612%2B858%2Ba7b%2Ba7c%2Ba7d%2Baa6%2Baa7%2Baa8%2Bc46%2Bc57%2Bca0%2Be0a%2Bfbe%2Bfc3%2Bfca%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%25201947%2520Grayscale%2FNorth%2520Tonawanda%2520NY%2520Evening%2520News%25201947%2520Grayscale%2520-%25201089.pdf&xml=https%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FdtSearch%2Fdtisapi6.dll%3Fcmd%3Dgetpdfhits%26u%3D117895ff%26DocId%3D2048109%26Index%3DZ%253a%255cDISK%2520U%26HitCount%3D24%26hits%3D36%2B37%2B161%2B33a%2B36a%2B36f%2B5e7%2B5fe%2B605%2B612%2B858%2Ba7b%2Ba7c%2Ba7d%2Baa6%2Baa7%2Baa8%2Bc46%2Bc57%2Bca0%2Be0a%2Bfbe%2Bfc3%2Bfca%2B%26SearchForm%3D%252fFulton%255fform%252ehtml%26.pdf&openFirstHlPage=false">La Salle and French Grab Frontier, Indian Lore Told (4/30)* <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%25201947%2520Grayscale%2FNorth%2520Tonawanda%2520NY%2520Evening%2520News%25201947%2520Grayscale%2520-%25201101.pdf%23xml%3Dhttps%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FdtSearch%2Fdtisapi6.dll%3Fcmd%3Dgetpdfhits%26u%3Dffffffffcaa1a69b%26DocId%3D2048121%26Index%3DZ%253a%255cDISK%2520U%26HitCount%3D29%26hits%3D3a%2B3b%2B158%2B191%2B1cf%2B22d%2B3f8%2B489%2B591%2B615%2B65a%2B83b%2B974%2B975%2B976%2B982%2Bac0%2Bb91%2Bb92%2Bb93%2Bd97%2Be2c%2Be59%2Bf4d%2Bfaa%2Bfe4%2B1151%2B1156%2B115d%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%25201947%2520Grayscale%2FNorth%2520Tonawanda%2520NY%2520Evening%2520News%25201947%2520Grayscale%2520-%25201101.pdf&xml=https%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FdtSearch%2Fdtisapi6.dll%3Fcmd%3Dgetpdfhits%26u%3Dffffffffcaa1a69b%26DocId%3D2048121%26Index%3DZ%253a%255cDISK%2520U%26HitCount%3D29%26hits%3D3a%2B3b%2B158%2B191%2B1cf%2B22d%2B3f8%2B489%2B591%2B615%2B65a%2B83b%2B974%2B975%2B976%2B982%2Bac0%2Bb91%2Bb92%2Bb93%2Bd97%2Be2c%2Be59%2Bf4d%2Bfaa%2Bfe4%2B1151%2B1156%2B115d%2B%26SearchForm%3D%252fFulton%255fform%252ehtml%26.pdf&openFirstHlPage=false">French, English and Indians Battle for Niagara Frontier (5/1)* <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%25201947%2520Grayscale%2FNorth%2520Tonawanda%2520NY%2520Evening%2520News%25201947%2520Grayscale%2520-%25201131.pdf%23xml%3Dhttps%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FdtSearch%2Fdtisapi6.dll%3Fcmd%3Dgetpdfhits%26u%3D52e13e46%26DocId%3D2048151%26Index%3DZ%253a%255cDISK%2520U%26HitCount%3D30%26hits%3D6b%2B102%2B137%2B1fc%2B40c%2B5e8%2B5e9%2B5ea%2B5f7%2B5f8%2B5fd%2B5fe%2B5ff%2B65c%2B6d9%2Bda1%2Be2b%2Beb4%2Bee4%2Bf0e%2Bf70%2Bf80%2B1003%2B103d%2B105d%2B110c%2B1173%2B1216%2B121b%2B1222%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%25201947%2520Grayscale%2FNorth%2520Tonawanda%2520NY%2520Evening%2520News%25201947%2520Grayscale%2520-%25201131.pdf&xml=https%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FdtSearch%2Fdtisapi6.dll%3Fcmd%3Dgetpdfhits%26u%3D52e13e46%26DocId%3D2048151%26Index%3DZ%253a%255cDISK%2520U%26HitCount%3D30%26hits%3D6b%2B102%2B137%2B1fc%2B40c%2B5e8%2B5e9%2B5ea%2B5f7%2B5f8%2B5fd%2B5fe%2B5ff%2B65c%2B6d9%2Bda1%2Be2b%2Beb4%2Bee4%2Bf0e%2Bf70%2Bf80%2B1003%2B103d%2B105d%2B110c%2B1173%2B1216%2B121b%2B1222%2B%26SearchForm%3D%252fFulton%255fform%252ehtml%26.pdf&openFirstHlPage=false">Bloody Devil's Hole Massacre Recounted in Frontier Lore (5/3)* Tuscarora Indians Purchase Present Site of Reservation <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%25201947%2520Grayscale%2FNorth%2520Tonawanda%2520NY%2520Evening%2520News%25201947%2520Grayscale%2520-%25201149.pdf%23xml%3Dhttps%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FdtSearch%2Fdtisapi6.dll%3Fcmd%3Dgetpdfhits%26u%3D124a91ea%26DocId%3D2048169%26Index%3DZ%253a%255cDISK%2520U%26HitCount%3D24%26hits%3D3b%2B3c%2B24d%2B385%2B49e%2B579%2B7e3%2B80f%2B833%2B964%2Ba2e%2Ba2f%2Ba30%2Ba44%2Ba45%2Ba4a%2Ba4b%2Ba4c%2Bd37%2Bdc7%2Bf92%2B10c7%2B10cc%2B10d3%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%25201947%2520Grayscale%2FNorth%2520Tonawanda%2520NY%2520Evening%2520News%25201947%2520Grayscale%2520-%25201149.pdf&xml=https%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FdtSearch%2Fdtisapi6.dll%3Fcmd%3Dgetpdfhits%26u%3D124a91ea%26DocId%3D2048169%26Index%3DZ%253a%255cDISK%2520U%26HitCount%3D24%26hits%3D3b%2B3c%2B24d%2B385%2B49e%2B579%2B7e3%2B80f%2B833%2B964%2Ba2e%2Ba2f%2Ba30%2Ba44%2Ba45%2Ba4a%2Ba4b%2Ba4c%2Bd37%2Bdc7%2Bf92%2B10c7%2B10cc%2B10d3%2B%26SearchForm%3D%252fFulton%255fform%252ehtml%26.pdf&openFirstHlPage=false">Treaty with Great Britian Deeds Fort Niagara to the U. S. (5/6)* <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%25201947%2520Grayscale%2FNorth%2520Tonawanda%2520NY%2520Evening%2520News%25201947%2520Grayscale%2520-%25201157.pdf%23xml%3Dhttps%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FdtSearch%2Fdtisapi6.dll%3Fcmd%3Dgetpdfhits%26u%3D126618e2%26DocId%3D2048177%26Index%3DZ%253a%255cDISK%2520U%26HitCount%3D24%26hits%3D34%2B35%2B129%2B2ae%2B734%2B7b2%2B940%2B9f3%2Bc3b%2Bc77%2Bd0f%2Bd2f%2Bd30%2Bd31%2Bd6c%2Bd6d%2Bd72%2Bd73%2Bd74%2Befc%2B1051%2B107d%2B1082%2B1089%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%25201947%2520Grayscale%2FNorth%2520Tonawanda%2520NY%2520Evening%2520News%25201947%2520Grayscale%2520-%25201157.pdf&xml=https%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FdtSearch%2Fdtisapi6.dll%3Fcmd%3Dgetpdfhits%26u%3D126618e2%26DocId%3D2048177%26Index%3DZ%253a%255cDISK%2520U%26HitCount%3D24%26hits%3D34%2B35%2B129%2B2ae%2B734%2B7b2%2B940%2B9f3%2Bc3b%2Bc77%2Bd0f%2Bd2f%2Bd30%2Bd31%2Bd6c%2Bd6d%2Bd72%2Bd73%2Bd74%2Befc%2B1051%2B107d%2B1082%2B1089%2B%26SearchForm%3D%252fFulton%255fform%252ehtml%26.pdf&openFirstHlPage=false">Spectacle of Mighty Niagara Awed Early Visitors (5/7)* <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%25201947%2520Grayscale%2FNorth%2520Tonawanda%2520NY%2520Evening%2520News%25201947%2520Grayscale%2520-%25201169.pdf%23xml%3Dhttps%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FdtSearch%2Fdtisapi6.dll%3Fcmd%3Dgetpdfhits%26u%3D2b9ff2cc%26DocId%3D2048189%26Index%3DZ%253a%255cDISK%2520U%26HitCount%3D15%26hits%3Dd8%2B320%2B4de%2B62d%2B62e%2B62f%2B644%2B645%2B646%2B6a4%2B73b%2Bdff%2Bffa%2Bfff%2B1006%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%25201947%2520Grayscale%2FNorth%2520Tonawanda%2520NY%2520Evening%2520News%25201947%2520Grayscale%2520-%25201169.pdf&xml=https%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FdtSearch%2Fdtisapi6.dll%3Fcmd%3Dgetpdfhits%26u%3D2b9ff2cc%26DocId%3D2048189%26Index%3DZ%253a%255cDISK%2520U%26HitCount%3D15%26hits%3Dd8%2B320%2B4de%2B62d%2B62e%2B62f%2B644%2B645%2B646%2B6a4%2B73b%2Bdff%2Bffa%2Bfff%2B1006%2B%26SearchForm%3D%252fFulton%255fform%252ehtml%26.pdf&openFirstHlPage=false">Daredevils of Niagara Falls Described in Frontier Lore (5/8)* <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%25201947%2520Grayscale%2FNorth%2520Tonawanda%2520NY%2520Evening%2520News%25201947%2520Grayscale%2520-%25201185.pdf%23xml%3Dhttps%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FdtSearch%2Fdtisapi6.dll%3Fcmd%3Dgetpdfhits%26u%3Dffffffffdf1f2342%26DocId%3D2048205%26Index%3DZ%253a%255cDISK%2520U%26HitCount%3D31%26hits%3D70%2Bcd%2B12b%2B143%2B228%2B22b%2B255%2B3f0%2B3fc%2B46b%2B8a8%2B9a8%2Ba33%2Ba34%2Ba35%2Ba43%2Ba44%2Ba49%2Ba4a%2Ba4b%2Bbd3%2Bcd0%2Bd15%2Be46%2Be5b%2Bed1%2Bf55%2Bfe2%2B106d%2B1072%2B1079%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%25201947%2520Grayscale%2FNorth%2520Tonawanda%2520NY%2520Evening%2520News%25201947%2520Grayscale%2520-%25201185.pdf&xml=https%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FdtSearch%2Fdtisapi6.dll%3Fcmd%3Dgetpdfhits%26u%3Dffffffffdf1f2342%26DocId%3D2048205%26Index%3DZ%253a%255cDISK%2520U%26HitCount%3D31%26hits%3D70%2Bcd%2B12b%2B143%2B228%2B22b%2B255%2B3f0%2B3fc%2B46b%2B8a8%2B9a8%2Ba33%2Ba34%2Ba35%2Ba43%2Ba44%2Ba49%2Ba4a%2Ba4b%2Bbd3%2Bcd0%2Bd15%2Be46%2Be5b%2Bed1%2Bf55%2Bfe2%2B106d%2B1072%2B1079%2B%26SearchForm%3D%252fFulton%255fform%252ehtml%26.pdf&openFirstHlPage=false">Falls Proved Lively Subject for Early Writers, Artists (5/9)* Early Travelers Bypassed Tonawanda Because of Forests Early Real Estate Deals Open Up Infant Tonawandas First Land in Tonas. Sold for 5c Woman's daring Saved Home as British Sacked Tonawanda Grand Island Timber Used for Early Boston Clippers Kid’s Utopia: Three-Month School Year in Early Tona. Goundry, Sweeney Offered NT Area to Buyers in 1824 Village of Tona Mapped, Erie Canal Pushed Through 330 Homes in Tonas. in 1866; Lumber Boom Hits Village Martinsville Settled, Rails Laid to Twin Cities * Not yet transcribed Introduction MRS. ELIAS ROOT’S ACCOUNT OF DRAMATIC PAST NORTH TONAWANDA AND FRONTIER Romantic ‘Only’ History of NT Starts in NEWS Today The NEWS of The Tonawandas today begins in serial form as a part of preparation for the gala celebration in August of North Tonawanda’s 50th anniversary as a city, the only authentic history of North Tonawanda ever compiled. (The “History of the City of Tonawanda” by the late George Millener, was printed exclusively by The NEWS in 1938.) The North Side’s history was written by the late Mrs. Elias Root, (nee Carrie Boughton) one of the community’s most prominent civic leaders and lady-citizens, founder of the Civic Club, to the forefront in affairs of the historic First Methodist church, and leader of the campaign which gave Sweeney Park to the city. A plaque at the park commemorates her activity. She was the mother of City Attorney Fred Root. Mrs. Root, who was born in nearby Pekin, lived during her childhood at Victor, N. Y., near Rochester, and attended the Lima, N. Y., Female Academy. Upon her marriage to Mr. Root, who read law in a Lockport law office, she came to North Tonawanda, and began her enterprising and enlightened work for civic betterment. She compiled her history of North Tonawanda as part of an extensive history of the entire Niagara Frontier, gleaned from old letters, hearsay from old inhabitants and personal observation. What a glamorous, romantic, historic field she had! Home of the ancient and prehistoric Mound Builders, and later the stamping ground of the Senecas, most warlike of all the Iroquois Indians. Tramped by the early French explorers and missionaries — the “wood-runners”, voyageurs, cavalier and fur-traders — including La Salle, Father Marquette, the amazing French-Italian adventurer “Toni of the Iron Hand,” and the builders of world-known Fort Niagara. Scene of stirring times in the War of 1812, when the Military Road was a-swarm with militia and military supplies as Gen. Augustus Porter prepared for an invasion of Canada. The out-lying settlement of the Tonawandas, seized and burned by British troops as they advanced to burn the hardly larger village of Buffalo, while the settlers buried their valuables and fled into the forest to dodge the swarms of hostile Indians under bloodthirsty Joseph Brant and Red Jacket. Scene of martyrdom of the great French Jesuit fathers at the hands of the Indians, with a shrine erected near Silver Creek as a present-day reminder of their suffering and martyrdom upon that very site. Fenian Invasion The Fenian invasion of Canada, when desperate Irish patriots paddled over the river intent upon seizing Canada. The Civil War, when Copperheads and Southern sympathizers based in Canada, plotted to cross the river near the Twin Cities, seize Buffalo and establish a Fifth Column to aid the Confederacy. Site of the end-station of the Civil War’s great “road to freedom,” the “Underground Railway,” over which thousands of negroes found their way to Canada and liberty from the lash. Much of this is told in the splendid history compiled by Mrs. Root. Its opening installment begins today: THE TWIN CITIES A History of Tonawanda and North Tonawanda 1. Early History Tonawanda in Erie County and its Twin City, North Tonawanda, in Niagara County, both of New York State, have a history so full of interest that it will well repay every resident of either place to pause and look back over the past centuries and especially of the one just closing, before starting the new era of industrial development and regional planning, which seems likely within the next century to stretch one continuous city from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. The real history of this region, so devoid of hills and other impediments to the growth of a huge city, begins with its geological formation. Geologists tell us that this level tract of land forming the western part of the state of New York was once the end of an Archaean Ocean. While the eastern part of the state was elevated into mountains, this part remained undisturbed. The red sandstone bottom was caused by its Niagara limestone, which is to a great degree a compound of shells, coral and the bodies of small animals and plants, which through the centuries have sunk to the bottom and become fossilized. Lake Ontario, which was formed after the recession of this ocean, apparently once extended to the escarpment at Lewiston, Pekin and so on east, forming what is now called its Mountain Ridge. Lewiston Ridge Was Lake Shore The ridge between the mountain ridge and the lake, now marked by the Million Dollar Highway, is supposed to have been a second shore of the lake caused by other sudden recession of its waters. A later and further recession has left the shore of the lake where it now is. The extreme fertility of the soil between this mountain ridge and the lake, which makes possible such rich farm lands and fruit growth, is evidently due to the fact that these areas were under water for a long time and were receiving the drainage of the Niagara River. The extreme fertility of the soil on these lowlands was well known to the Indians at least 200 years ago. Quite an area between Lewiston and the lake and for some distance east was at that time devoid of trees. The Indian women were accustomed to take their children with them to this spot where they erected their tents and spent the summer raising their crops for Winter, returning in Autumn to their tribal location. Just when the last recession of the lake took place is not known, but it seems to have been after the time of the mound builders, who are supposed to have left this region about the 12th century. [AI-transcribed, not proofed]: 2. Another Gripping Chapter Of Frontier Lore Related Another installment of Mrs. Elias Root’s complete and dramatic history of North Tonawanda and the Niagara Frontier appears today in The NEWS of the Tonawandas. Mrs. Root’s carefully compiled story is the only history embracing North Tonawanda ever written. This race has been called the “Alleghens”, and it is claimed that the Allegheny Mountains derived their name from them. So far as legends and relics can inform us, these Mound Builders were the first inhabitants of the Niagara Frontier. They existed during the Stone Age and were co-existent with the Mammoths. Being more civilized than the Indians, and being mine and metal workers, they were gradually driven by the latter to the south and west. Volumes have been written about these mysterious people who had no written language, but whose wonderful structures are common to the Middle West and spread along the banks of the Great Lakes. Moundbuilders’ “Forts” In the early part of this century, several of these structures were still in existence in this vicinity. Frank Severance relates that near the city of Lockport, at the head of a deep gorge, now almost closed up by an embankment of the New York Central Railroad, was a circular raised work or fort whose walls were then plainly visible. From this fort was a covered way leading to a spring of water in a fissure of the rock some 60 feet down the declivity. In the Town of Hartland, on the Castle Farm, was a circular fortification with an opening for ingress and egress. The early white settlers found trees growing on its embankments as large as any in the surrounding forests. Earthenware of ancient make, arrowheads, and other relics were found in and about the place. In 1883, there was discovered on a farm in Cambria a rut 24 feet square and four and a half feet deep which contained the bones of 4,200 persons. Large forest trees were growing over this sepulcher. Whether this was a tribal burying place or the scene of a great battle is not known. Just outside the south side of Lockport, in early days, there was an irregular space on which were 100 circular pits 12 to 15 feet in diameter with an average depth of four feet. The excavated matter around them consisted of sand, which is found only in a stratum beneath the surface at a depth of from three to six feet. Large oak trees were growing on these embankments, but every vestige of trees and embankments has been swept away. String of Defenses There was a large double fort with a town between on the present site of Batavia on Tonawanda Creek in the early days, and there was a string of forts from there to Cattaraugus Creek to the Pennsylvania line, a distance of 50 miles, with from a mile to two miles between them, and farther south is another chain parallel with them. There is one structure of the mound builders that is still preserved. It is located on the escarpment, or the original bank of the lake, about three miles east of the Niagara Gorge at Lewiston. Immediately after crossing a little ravine, and rising to the level of the plains, one enters the fields and rock fortress of Kienuka. Lewiston Relics An Indian mound near the ferry ravine at Lewiston was probably constructed by the Mound Builders, although it was used later as a burial ground by the Indians. These "works of art" may be viewed as connecting links of a great chain, which extends beyond the confines of our state and becomes more magnificent and curious as we recede from the Northern Lakes and from the Ohio River into the great valley of the Mississippi, thence to the Gulf of Mexico, through Texas, New Mexico, and South America. The advent of the Indian to this country is also a mystery. Their language being akin to that of the Mongols, it is possible that they may have crossed from Asia by way of the Aleutian Islands and Bering Strait. Another theory of their advent to this country is that they were a small remnant that survived the sinking of Atlantis and found their way to these shores. 3. Indian Migrations Traced In Niagara Frontier Area [AI-transcribed, not proofed] Third installment of Mrs. Elias Root’s carefully compiled and complete history of North Tonawanda and the Niagara Frontier appears in The NEWS today. This chapter deals with Indian migrations which brought early tribes to this area. The latter theory seems highly improbable and is not borne out by statements made by Professor Arthur Parker of Albany, State archeologist, who is of Indian descent, his grandfather having held a sub-sachemship in the Iroquois Confederacy. In an address delivered by him at the dedication of the Boulder Monument on the site of the historic DeNonville-Seneca battle field in 1913 (reference to which will be made later) he gives this statement concerning the distribution of the six nations in New York State: “The Iroquois, who ruled here and ruled well, belonged to the Huron-Iroquois linguistic stock said to have migrated from some Western source, passed through the Mississippi valley and gathered around the Detroit River. Offshoots were constantly splitting off from the main branch as they found suitable place for settlement. Among these may be mentioned the Cherokee. Marching Eastward The marching horde at its rendezvous on the Detroit seems to have divided again. One large division passed over the river, while the remainder stayed on the south bank. Both branches, however, continued their journeys eastward along the shores of Lakes Erie and Ontario. The Iroquois along the south shore later became known as the Eries, the Andastic and the Senecas, although there were also other small bands. The Northern migrants coursing along the shores of the lakes eventually reaching the St. Lawrence valley, where they were surrounded by the Algonquins and made a captive people. But the fierce love of liberty, the recollection of past glory and the blood of brave ancestry would not long allow the Iroquois to remain a subject people. Iroquois Escape By a well directed blow at a well chosen time, they obtained their freedom and fled to the territory which we now know as Northern and Central New York. Pushing their way westward to the Genesee and beyond they met their brother tribes from whom they had been separated years before. The Laurentian Iroquois, as they have come to be called, were divided into three bands, originally, perhaps, two. The Mohawks constituted one band, the Onondagas another and the Oneidas the third, may have been an offshoot of the Mohawks. The Cayugas were members of their tribes that had clung to the southern shores and were a large division and in close alliance with the Eries and influenced more or less by the Andastic and neutrals.” Local Tribes The latter tribe was situated on both sides of the Niagara River. The Tuscaroras were said to have been originally one of the tribes of the Iroquois Confederacy, but they later wandered away to North Carolina, probably over what is known as the Catawga Trail which led from Central New York south through Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia. In this final settlement, the Mohawks occupied the valley of the Mohawk River, the Cayugas, Oneidas and Canandaguas the vicinity of the five finger lakes, while the Senecas took the territory west of the Genesee River. 4. French Explorers Gambled For Big Stakes on Frontier [AI-transcribed, not proofed] This is the fourth installment of the history of the Niagara Frontier and North Tonawanda by Mrs. Elias Root. Advent of the French This Niagara frontier with its wonder waterfall was known all over the country by the Indians. While the English and Dutch explored the Eastern part of the state, the French were the first whites to penetrate to this part of New York. Crossing the ocean from their native France they came down the St. Lawrence to Lake Ontario. In small boats they skirted the south shore of the lake until they reached the outlet of the Niagara River which they ascended as far as Lewiston. Leaving their boats there, they made their way around the Falls by land and soon learned from the Indians of the other great lakes and the Mississippi River. They decided that it would be a fine idea to establish a fur trade with the Indians and eventually make the country a “New France.” The first adventurers into this Indian country embraced three classes: the explorers, the fur traders and the missionaries, who were sent out to preach Christianity to the natives. These latter men had hearts of iron. They took their lives in their hands for they planned to make their homes among the natives. The Hurons in western Canada responded more sympathetically to this innovation but their treatment among some of the other Earliest Book The earliest book about this frontier is Champlain’s “Des Sauvages” (The Savages). Lee Carbot in a book called “New France” which was published in 1603 relates that Jacques Cartier made a trip to the St. Lawrence in 1535 and then heard of the big falls but did not see them. Champlain, from whom the lake was named, had an interpreter named Etienne Bruli who visited this section. He may have seen them but if so it was not recorded. The title of Les Carbot’s book indicates that as early as 1609 the French had intended to capture the whole country for France and they named Lake Ontario “Lake Louis” from their French king. In 1626 Joseph de la Roche Daillon, a priest, came here and visited the falls. He is said to be the first white man to set foot in Niagara county. He explored the lake to its west end. In 1642 two missionaries, Father L’Allimont and Father Ragueneau left the Huron nation where they had been teaching Christianity and came to teach along the Niagara frontier and at Lewiston but their reception was not cordial and their treatment eventually so inhumane that they were compelled to return to the Huron country. They crossed the river to Canada where they started their long journey on foot and in the dead of winter. One of them died on the way but the other succeeded in reaching his destination. If space permitted a volume might be written about these brave missionaries of the cross who endured untold hardships, risked their lives and in some cases suffered martyrdom in order to carry Christianity to the natives. In 1657 Sanson called the falls Niagara and from that time on no fewer than ten different spellings of the word occur. The French traders were called Coureurs des Bois and it was their constant ambition to secure for France all the fur trade of the Indians. As early as 1549 Father Raqueneau speaks of Lake Erie being formed by the waters of the “Mer Douce” (Lake Huron) and of its discharging its waters into a third called Lake Ontario through a river or straits. One old map has the Niagara River named “The Straits.” Just after this period the Seneca tribe of Indians, located west of the Genesee River made war on the Indians along the frontier and either killed or captured all of them, but although this occurred in 1651 they did not occupy the newly conquered territory for years. The destruction of the Algonquin seemed a doubly sad event, first because, as their name indicated, they had stood as a barrier between two hostile tribes for many years and secondly because of the adoration of the big river. They had literally made it their duty. Annually they offered to it their crops, results of the chase trophies from war-like expeditions and even human sacrifices. In the book called “The Niagara Region in History” by Severance the statement is made that “Each spring the fairest maiden was sent out over the falls in a white canoe filled with blossoms and fruit.” The honor of being chosen for this sacrifice was so great that it was eagerly sought for. The custom continued until one chieftain, whose daughter had been chosen for the honor, decided that he could not live without her and so followed her over the brink in another boat. The tribe felt that they could not afford to lose any more chiefs, so discontinued the practice. 8. Tuscarora Indians Purchase Present Site of Reservation [AI-transcribed, not proofed] In 1779, Washington sent an exhibition against the Senecas. Their villages were all burned and they also joined the other tribes at Niagara. The British not being able to supply them, the Mohawks in 1780 moved to Canada, but the Senecas refused to go. They preferred to settle on Tonawanda and Buffalo creeks, claiming the land through conquests 18 years before. As the British made no objection, this was done. The Senecas afterward became allies of the United States and helped in the War of 1812. It was at this time that the Tuscaroras were given a square mile of land by the Senecas at their present reservation near Lewiston, where they moved in 1780. Subsequently the Holland Land Co. gave them two more square miles and the tribe later purchased four thousand acres more of the land for $17,720. This tribe, originally a part of the Iroquois Confederacy, but who separated from it a short time before the advent of the whites went to live in North Carolina had now been driven out of their homes through the activities of the Revolutionary war. Their return added one more to the five nations of the Iroquois Confederacy. A part of this tribe was not satisfied with these arrangements and returned to North Carolina, but the Tuscaroras have always been loyal to the United States and those who remained became the first settlers in this county. Forests Cleared This territory, at first dense forest, has been gradually cleared away and made into farms. A map of 1852 shows that the greater part of the tract was still forest, there being some clearings along the top of the Ridge road and also a considerable portion of the western end of the reservation. “Indian Hill” was a mission and farm. There was a little Indian church and school house, the church standing by itself on the north side of the road, the other buildings on the south side. Attorney E. Root was born at Pekin only a few miles from the reservation and remembers these buildings, as well as a man named Rockwood who was missionary there and preached in the little church. An unusual woman, Miss Anna Peck, spent years there teaching in the little school house and seldom left except to attend church at Pekin. She was highly esteemed among the Indians. At that time, about 1850, the Indian women still wore blankets as their main article of dress and the custom continued until the '70s when they finally yielded to white influence and donned the white women's dress. Cornell Coach The Rockwood mission and farm was one or two miles north of the present council house and school. Some of the Indians have received a good degree of education in other schools. One of them, Mr. Pleasant by name, taught in one of the churches there. Mr. Root thinks the original church was burned, but, at least two more churches, the Baptist and Presbyterian, have since been built. The son of Mr. Pleasant attended school at Carlisle and became an athlete whose fame won him a position as instructor of Cornell teams. Another Indian boy attended school at Lockport and finally earned the title of Dr. Johnson (M.D.). Some relics of the ancient times are still preserved by the Indians, one of these being an old Bible with English text on one page and Indian on the opposite page. Fifty years ago, the Indian women were regularly seen sitting about the paths around the Falls with big baskets of bead work, but now this work is scarcely seen there any more, even in the stores. An item recorded at about this time in a diary kept by Mr. Root in his boyhood, concerns an immense flock of passenger pigeons which was a mile long and that flew overhead in March in 1860. The present state of the Tuscarora Tribe has been ably described by the author of the historical article in The NEWS heretofore referred to. 13. Early Travelers By-Passed Tonas. Because of Forests In this chapter of the local history, prepared by the late Mrs. Elias Root, an account is presented of the great events which passed the Tonawandas by because nothing was located where the Twin Cities now stand but impassable forests. For fully 200 years after the first white man set foot in Niagara County, Tonawanda was simply a point in the interminable forest pressing close to the Niagara River banks. The only thing to distinguish this point from others was the fact that a small unnamed island stood opposite the mouth of two creeks which flowed into the river at this point. All the stirring events that transpired at the lower end of this noted river made no impression on this lonely spot. The passing of the Indians from Lake Ontario to Lake Erie with furs and merchandise of every description was the only indication of human life. Even the Griffon, built only five miles from here by LaSalle passed here on its first and only voyage, but, while envious and malicious eyes of savages along the banks may have peered at it from among the trees, no white man was here to wave a greeting as it passed by, never to return. No Land Trips The spot where Buffalo now stands was originally called the “Place of the Basswoods,” and if a traveller wished to make a trip From Fort Niagara to this point on Lake Erie, he avoided a land trip for two reasons. First, he would be obliged to wade two or three extensive streams whether he took the eastern or western bank of the river, for there were no bridges at that time; secondly, the forests were full of wild animals and snakes, with only Indian trails for roads. The only practical way to make the journey was by boat, with a portage from the foot of the rapids below the Falls to the river above the cataract. Many people noted in science, literature, military service, and in statesmanship passed by this way but, without a bridge to cross the streams or even a tavern to furnish food or rest, the place was passed by. Among the noted people who have visited this region, not including writers already mentioned, are the following: George Francis Train, George William Curtis, Anthony Trollope, Prince Maximilian, the Earl of Carlisle, Professors Huxley and Tyndall, Henry James, Edward Arnold, Henry Irving, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Charles A. Dana, George Ticknor, E. C. Stedman, James T. Field, Charles Dickens, Walt Whitman, the Marquis of Lorne, Catherine Sedgwick, Thoreau, and Emerson. Mrs. Frances Wright made a trip to this region from the eastern part of the state and was entertained on the way at the home of the Wadsworths in Genesee Valley, from which family is descended our former Senator. After steamboats were invented, a man named Flint came down the lakes from the west in a pioneer steamer called “Walk-in-the-Water.” In 1825, Maitland had a country seat at Stamford near the Whirlpool and LaFayette on a trip to this country was entertained there. President Monroe also joined the endless number which passed this way with the great cataract for their objective. Tonawanda was not on the map when the greater part of these travellers passed through. As late as 1792, there was not a white settler between the Genesee and Niagara Rivers. Many changes in boundaries were made by the state before the present towns of Wheatfield and Tonawanda were formed. 14. Early Real Estate Deals Open Up Infant Tonawandas The early development of the Tonawandas is covered in this chapter of the exciting history of the Twin Cities prepared by the late Mrs. Elias Root. The completion of the canal was of untold value to New York and did a great deal toward making it the Empire State. All the merchandise that had been shipped from New York and Albany up the Mohawk, by various portages to Oswego, up Lake Ontario, thru the Niagara River by portages around the Falls, and then on to Lake Erie was now shipped by canal. Of course the passage was slow, horses having been used until about 1900 to draw the boats, but an immense amount of transferring of baggage was eliminated. But after the first excitement incident to building this end of the waterway had subsided, the town failed to benefit much by it, by virtue of the fact that the greater part of the merchandise passed through to Buffalo and the West. There was not as much need of the portage at the Falls as heretofore, still the Canadian trade demanded it and although the warehouses at Lewiston had been burned, the firm of Porter Barton & Co. received a commission from the government to run the portage with the understanding that they would build a new warehouse, which they did, and carried on a rushing business there for years. But in spite of the canal and in spite of the realtors, the growth of the Tonawandas was very slow. Early Landowners A map showing the transfers of real estate along Ellicott Creek was about this time indicates that James A. Burrows, A. H. Tracy, William Williams, Charles Townsend and George Cort (Buffalo men) purchased about 300 acres at the junction of the creek with the river and laid out village lots and streets. But in 1827, Tonawanda had only a postoffice, Joseph Brush, Postmaster, a bridge across the creek, a few log houses and two small stores. During the building of the canal Wilkinson and Johnson conducted a store on the south side and later Joseph Brush, after acting as a clerk for this firm for several years, opened one of his own. Since he was Postmaster for many years, he probably ran the post office in connection with the store which he conducted for 40 years. In 1827, Will Driggs, son of Roswell Driggs, an earlier saloon keeper, built the first store of any account which he kept for 50 years. John Long built a house on the north side of Ellicott Creek at its junction with Tonawanda Creek and there was a tavern run by Peter Taylor at the mouth of the creek. There was also the little log schoolhouse on Niagara street. First Boom On the north side was the tavern on the creek run by Ganett Van Slyke whose daughters ran a rope ferry across the creek. There were several log houses on this side. By an act of legislature in 1825, William Williams was authorized to run a ferry from the south side of Tonawanda Creek to Grand Island and by this same act James Sweeney was authorized to run one from the north side to the same place where the village of White Haven had already been started. In 1850, the village of Tonawanda experienced its first boom, but the quarter of a century from the opening of the canal to that time was characterized mainly by the opening up of Grand and Tonawanda Islands to the lumber interests as previously mentioned, the building of saw and grist mills and the building of railroads. 15. First Land Sold in Tonas. Brought 25 Cents an Acre Early real estate transactions in the Tonawandas are described in this chapter of the authentic local history prepared by the late Mrs. Elias Root. The first man who is recorded to have built a house in Tonawanda was an Indian trader named Toudry. The Holland Land Company bought all of this part of the State from the government and about 1801 began selling their holdings to private speculators and as farm lots. Their sales the first year were: 40 lots, the second 56, and the third 230. Land was sold to the first settlers at 25 cents an acre and sales were reported as slow because in Ohio and in other points more remote it could be bought for six cents. One man claimed that he could have bought the whole site of Buffalo for less than $75. A man named Huntington of Rome, N.Y., bought from the Holland Land Company a section on which a part of Tonawanda was built, and prepared to sell to settlers for $2 an acre. At this time and for many years thereafter, Tonawanda was a part of Niagara County. As recorded elsewhere in this history, Erie and Niagara Counties were not separated until 1821. First Landowners Several men bought tracts outside the village limits in 1805 and 1804 – Alex Logan, John King, John Hershey, Emanuel Winters, Joseph Hayward, Oliver Standard, John Cunningham, Josiah Guthrie, Ebenizer Coon, Thomas Honam and Joseph Hersey. Other than the aforesaid Toudry, whose location is unknown, the first man to settle within the corporate limits was Robert Van Slyke Bridges. Henry Anguish came soon after and bought a piece of land about a mile down the river when he opened a tavern in 1811. Frederick Buck also came about this time and James Burba in 1810. On the North Side, George Van Slyke came in 1802 and in 1809 George N. Burgen located on the premises where Vincent and Kock later had their office (somewhat South of the iron works). In 1810, Joshua Pettit opened a log tavern in the same vicinity. Garrett Van Slyke had a tavern on the North Side of Tonawanda Creek and other settlers were John Harvey, Jacob Storm, William Scott, and Walter and Joseph Field. A family named Francis also had a house on the North Side. Robert Simson took up a farm on Ellicott Creek about a mile east of the river and built a log house. Mr. Simson became one of the most active settlers here. He had at that time one son, John. His ancestors were people of distinction who had immigrated from Scotland. Simson Family Robert Simson was born August 3, 1758, and on March 26, 1778, married Jane Adams by whom he had 11 children. He served seven years in the Revolutionary War under Washington. His ancestors were wealthy and he inherited considerable property which was loaned to the government. The government replaced his money with Continental script which was eventually redeemed but not during his lifetime. In 1816 he freed all his slaves. His only son, Robert, was born in November 1782. This son traveled through western New York in 1810 and in 1811 moved his family here on a tract of land still owned by his descendants about a mile east of the village of Tonawanda on Ellicott Creek. He was a fine singer and full of life and on April 8, 1802, married Lydia Moffitt who was of Welsh descent. He was captain of the guardhouse which was built at the approach of war. Editor’s Note: Copies of two early maps attached to the author’s manuscript show many names of interest to their descendants today. The following bought land in Tonawanda on the river in Tonawanda between 1809 and 1833: Enos St. John, John Foster, Henry Anguish, George Coit, Charles Townsend, William Williams, A.H. Tracy, and James A. Burrows. On Ellicott Creek between 1822 and 1837 these men purchased land: William Williams, William Vandervoort, John Grove, Robert Simson, Amos W. Broughton, and Charles E. Dudley. Between 1814 and 1837 the following purchased land between Ellicott and Tonawanda Creeks: Jacob B. Gilbert, Arthur Power, James Haggart, Charles E. Dudley, James Carney, William Williams, Charles F. Clark, and Horatio Shamway. Tonawanda Island was bought in 1841 by Samuel Leggett. North Tonawanda land bought between 1812 and 1849 was purchased along the river beginning at Tonawanda Creek by the following men: William James, William Mynders, James Emott, Augustus Porter, John Bruen, Matthias Bruen, and Christian Hershey. Zebulon Ketchum and others already mentioned purchased land nearby but not on the river. 16. Woman’s Daring Saved Home As British Sacked Tonawanda [Transcribed by AI, not proofread] The burning of Tonawanda is described in this chapter in the complete history of the Twin Cities compiled by the late Mrs. Elias Root. At the outbreak of war in 1812, several hundred Indians who were allies of the British appeared on Grand Island opposite Tonawanda. As there were only 16 soldiers in the guard house, the citizens lent them what uniforms they had. The soldiers marched along the shore in their uniforms. The soldiers marched along the shore in their uniforms then turned their coats wrong side out and marched out again giving the Indians the effect of a much larger force. The ruse worked and the Indians disappeared. At this time there were only a few houses scattered here and there and Garrett VanSlyke kept a tavern on the north side of the creek across which was a pontoon bridge, although the only road to Buffalo was along the beach. A road had been roughed out but never finished. In the year 1813 of the war, after an American officer (who held an English fort opposite Ft. Niagara) had ruthlessly set fire to the small village of Newark near the fort, the British retaliated. There being no American town to burn, they captured Fort Niagara and then ordered every house on the American side of the river to be burned. The men along the frontiers were practically all in the war, and when this news came they made hasty preparations to remove their families from the scene of war. Valuables Hidden The log houses in those days contained little except cooking utensils and beds, but Mrs. J. H. DeGraff, grand-daughter of Mr. Simson, related that when an officer came to take the women away from here to Williamson, her grandmother, Mrs. Simson, sunk her big kettles in the creek, put her Bible in a bag of oats which she buried in the ground and was then loaded onto a stone boat with what food and clothing she had on hand, and taken east to the Genesee country with the other women of the frontier. In order to save Buffalo, the pontoon bridge across the creek was burned but the British crossed the river to Canada and proceeded to Black Rock by land, and eventually Buffalo suffered the same fate as all the other towns along the frontier. Everything in Tonawanda which was located near the river was burned except one dwelling owned by the Francis family. Mrs. Francis was ill in bed at the time the destruction of homes began. Hearing the men starting the fire, she waited until they were gone, then dragged herself down and put the fire out. She then returned and heard a second party of men firing the house. She arose and put it out again. A third attempt was made to burn it but after that the British did not return and this house was saved. The home of Robert Simson being so far from the river escaped. Although the settlers who owned land eventually returned and rebuilt their houses, still, with the burning of mills as well as houses, it is easy to understand why the growth of the place from this time on was very slow. The story is told that for some time the only grist mill was in the vicinity of Lewiston and that to accomplish the grinding of their wheat into flour, two women would take one or two sacks of wheat in a boat and row with it as far as possible to reach a grist mill. It is difficult to tell where a mill would have been located at that time for even the mills on 18-mile creek at Olcott were burned. Col. Porter declares that outside of Ft. Niagara, there is only one structure still standing as a memento of this holocaust, and that is the stone chimney of the barracks connected with Ft. Schlossen above the Falls. 17. Grand Island Timber Used For Early Boston Clippers [Transcribed by AI, not proofread] Early plans for the development of Grand Island are described in this exciting chapter in the authentic local history written by the late Mrs. Elias Root. Grand Island, called by the Indians “Owamninga” had been ceded to the United States by Great Britain and in 1814, together with Strawberry, Snake, Squaw and Bird Islands, was purchased from the Seneca Indians for $1,000 and an annuity of $500. But soon squatters appeared on both sides of Grand Island and boldly started cutting timber which they made into staves for barrels and delivered to Chippewa. The government sent an officer to remonstrate with them, but they put him in his boat and shoved him off minus his oars. He was eventually rescued but the squatters continued their depredations on the forest which covered the island. The government finally got officers from Black Rock, who routed them all out and burned their shanties. In 1824, the state had the island surveyed into land tracts. Noah’s Plans It was in this year that a Jew named Mordecai Manuel Noah came here from New York and conceived the idea of making Grand Island into a Jewish paradise. He purchased a tract of land and put up a monument 14-feet high at a point opposite the mouth of Tonawanda Creek where he intended building a town. This monument had a base of brick. The upper part was painted white and bore this inscription: “Ararat, A City of Refuge for the Jews, Founded by Mordecai M. Noah in the month Tigri 5586, Sept., 1825, and in the 50th year of American independence.” There was great excitement over this statement, but Mr. Noah returned to New York and nothing more was heard of this monument. It was later learned that the Rabbi at the head of the Jewish nation in Europe failed to give his sanction to this scheme. The original cornerstone of the monument is now in the Historical Building in Buffalo. The State in 1833 sold Grand Island to the E. Boston Co., which erected on the site of the Jewish City of Ararat the village of Whitehaven, named for Mr. Stephen White who was doing business on Tonawanda Island for that company. Huge Saw Mill Mr. White then was running on Grand Island a steam grist and saw mill, said to have been at that time the largest in the world, being 150 feet square, with room for 15 gangs of saws. There was also a building there that was used for church and school besides houses for its workmen. Fortunately, a picture painted in watercolors of this set of buildings is still in existence. It is owned by Mrs. Lyman Stanley, daughter of Col. Payne. In an early map of this place, Whitehaven appears as a village on Grand Island when the words Tonawanda Postoffice describes all there was of these two cities. Whitehaven, however, failed to develop and only remains in the name of Whitehaven Cemetery on the road not far from Edgewater. The object of the E. Boston Co. was to remove the heavy oak timber on Tonawanda and Grand Island to be sent to Boston for ship building. Various parts of the ships were cut out here from patterns and sent ready for use. With this effective mill it is no wonder that the island of Tonawanda was soon stripped of trees. Grand Island was heavily timbered until 1833 and contained bear, wolves, deer, raccoons, squirrels, duck and other game and many Seneca and Tonawanda Indians came here to hunt as the greater number of wild animals had been scared away from the mainland by the excitement of the war of 1812. After continuing their business until 1840, the E. Boston Co. suspended. 18. Kid’s Utopia: Three-Month School Year in Early Tona. [Transcribed by AI, not proofread] Tonawanda in the early 1800’s is described in this chapter of the local history prepared by the late Mrs. Elias Root and published for the first time by The NEWS. In the spring of 1816, the first school house was built along Tonawanda Creek. It was a little log hut, where later stood Fred Diedrick’s grocery store. Ephraim Kelsey was the first teacher for the first three years keeping school only three months of the year, then later for five months. The first saw mill was built in 1819. It was not until 1835 that the first school district was formed, the first trustees of this district being James Sweeney, James Dowell and Loyal E. Edwards. Rope Ferry Used The next year a new school house was built on Canal Street and in 1844 another on Adam. The bridge over the creek, burned during the war, had evidently not been replaced as late as 1823, for Joseph Bush relates that there were then two taverns, one on each side of Tonawanda Creek. The one on the north side had been and perhaps was then kept by Garrett VanSlyke. The latter was the proprietor of a rope ferry and his daughters were in the habit of drawing boats over the stream in this way. In March, 1817, Stephen Jacobs bought a farm of 196 acres, two miles down the river, from Judge Augustus Porter of Niagara Falls for $8 an acre. Up to this time there were a few log houses on the north side, but in 1823 Judge Wilkinson and Dr. Johnson of Buffalo took contracts for building a dam at the mouth of the creek and three-fourths of a mile of the canal at this end. They employed a large force of men and a village of shanties at once sprang up at the mouth of the creek. These men built a toll bridge across the creek and opened a store on the North Side. During the year Albert A. Tracy, Charles Townsend and other Buffalonians formed a company, bought land and laid out the Village of Tonawanda. While the completion of the Canal was in progress there was a great deal of business at the new village. Though actual work on the canal had been commenced in 1821, nothing was done on this section until 1823. The Tonawanda Post Office was established in 1823. 19. Goundry, Sweeney Offered NT Area to Buyers in 1824 [AI-transcribed, not proofread] Real estate transactions, which resulted in the development of the Tonawandas, are described in this chapter of the history of the Twin Cities compiled by the late Mrs. Elias Root. Her data was carefully taken from early maps and documents of the area. James Sweeney purchased farm lots 81 and 82 on June 14, 1824. He subsequently conveyed one-third interest to his brother Colonel John Sweeney, and one-third to George Goundry who was an uncle of the latter’s first wife. William Vandervoort, a brother-in-law of James Sweeney purchased farm lot 80 on June 7, 1826. These three lots comprise three-quarters of the old corporate limits of North Tonawanda which was bounded by the river on the west, Tonawanda Creek on the south, the mile line on the east and Wheatfield on the north. At this time and for some years after North Tonawanda was called “Niagara.” Niagara Falls was just called “Manchester,” and at an early date Buffalo was “New Amsterdam.” “Niagara” Prospectus In 1824 James and George Sweeney and George Goundry (for whom Goundry street was named) issued pamphlets advertising “Niagara” as “a village 12 miles from Buffalo, 8 miles from the Falls and 16 from Lockport. A line of stages passes through from Buffalo to Lewiston daily and another from Buffalo to Lockport every other day. A bare inspection of Vance’s or Lay’s map of this village will show the advantageous position of the village for homes. Building lots are now offered for sale to actual settlers. A map of the village may be seen by application to James Sweeney at Buffalo or to James Goundry at the land office at Geneva. The title is indisputable and good warranty deeds will be executed to purchasers. (signed) George Goundry, James Sweeney, John Sweeney, Proprietors, July 6, 1824.” Mr. Huntington of Rome who bought the land of the Holland Land Company for the site of Tonawanda, transferred his title to his son-in-law, William Winters, who at this time came on to develop the same. These men became the first “realtors” of the vicinity. Of course they were anticipating the opening of the canal. The first work done on this section of the canal was by Judge Samuel Wilkeson and Ebenezer Johnson who built the dam across the creek in 1823. Work was begun the same year in Buffalo but it was not until 1825 that the entire work was completed. 20. Village of Tona. Mapped, Erie Canal Pushed Through [Transcribed by AI, not proofread] The carefully compiled history of the Twin Cities written by the late Mrs. Elias Root in 1925 and now published for the first time by The NEWS, continues today with an account of the construction of the Erie Canal. As the year of the writing of this history brings the centennial of the completion of the Canal, it seems best to recall the history of the waterway. They employed a large force of men for the work on the canal and a village of shanties at once sprang up at the mouth of the creek. These men built a toll bridge across the creek and opened a store on the other side. During the year, Albert A. Tracy, Charles Townsend, and other Buffalonians formed a company, bought land, and laid out the Village of Tonawanda. The completion of the Erie was a great event not only on the Niagara Frontier but all over the State and probably no other public event was ever celebrated with as much enthusiasm as the opening of the canal. We quote from the TONAWANDA DAILY NEWS of January 27, 1925, "After the Civil War, the canal was enlarged to a width of 56 feet, at the bottom and a depth of seven feet, giving a water capacity of over three times the former measure, 76 tons, and at a cost of 30 million dollars. It was made free to the state in 1882 and as late as 1890, statistics from New York indicate that 1/9 of all the grain and flour had been shipped there over this canal." Later the State decided to enlarge the canal still further to accommodate barges of 1,000 tons capacity. There is no question that the earlier years of the canal constituted the period of its greatest usefulness for two reasons. First, it shortened the distance from the New York port to the Great Lakes by many miles as all travel and shipping and merchandise had previously been through the Mohawk and Oswego Rivers and Lake Ontario. Second, there were at that time no railroads in competition with it but now with the railroads combined with the increasing truck automobiling it is a question whether the immense outlay on the recent enlargements will ever be warranted. 21. 330 Homes in Tona. in 1866; Lumber Boom Hits Village [Transcribed by AI, not proofread] A carefully documented list of the early lumber dealers in the boomtown that was Tonawanda in the 1800s is contained in this chapter of local history prepared by the late Mrs. Elias Root and printed for the first time by The NEWS. Even with the completion of the new canal, the growth of the village from 1825 to 1850 was very slow. Its natural location with quantities of timber on every hand and thousands of acres along the shores of the upper lakes and Canada to draw from, indicated at a very early date that lumbering was destined to be for many years the leading industry. An early map indicates how exclusively the lumber trade in all its branches was carried on after 1825. This map was made in 1866 and at that time the village contained only 330 homes, although North Tonawanda had been set off in 1852 and it is uncertain whether this number includes the town of North Tonawanda. Loggers Cleared Land Had it not been for the pioneer lumbermen, the farming of the land would have been impossible or at least greatly delayed as the great acreage of logs from the prospective farms must of necessity be cut down before the ground could be tilled. Beside those already mentioned, John Simson had built a sawmill and a planning mill as early as 1840. The first man to start the lumber business here was Henry P. Smith. The export company of J. H. DeGraff and Co. was formed. J. S. Thompson began the manufacture of shingles in 1881 and turned out 200,000 daily. Emanuel Hensler, S. P. Bliss, and others were also among the first to engage in the business. Early Firms Afterward, important lumber firms were A. B. Williams, Ellicott Creek, offices at Fremont and Young streets; Eastern Lumber Co., owning 28 acres adjoining Ellicott Creek; Fassett & Billinger, lumber forwarders; P. W. Schribner, wholesale lumber yard on the river above Tonawanda Creek; George E. Hill, planing mill at the foot of Tonawanda street; Scanlon Bush & Co., rafters; E. Hewitt and R. E. Fowler, shingle mills; Gratwick, Smith & Mitchel; Dodge & Bliss; DeGraff & Pison & Sons; Bennett Co.; Peter Misner; Lockman & Wood. Fassett & Co. bought Tonawanda Island and made it into a city of lumber. J. M. Chapman, James Morris & Co., built miles of dock and by 1884 had hundreds of acres covered with lumber from Michigan and Canada. J. Balt engaged in the shingle business during the war and afterward J. S. Bliss took it. J. A. Bliss carried on the shingle business for many years, but he closed out in 1882. 22. Martinsville Is Settled; Rails Laid to Twin Cities [Transcribed by AI, not proofread] The authentic history of the Twin Cities, compiled by the late Mrs. Elias Root, concludes with this installment. The NEWS has printed, for the first time anywhere, the carefully prepared document which Mrs. Root completed in 1925. The Town of Tonawanda, which first included Grand Island, was taken from Buffalo in 1840. It was about this time that a number of German neighborhoods and villages were established by several Lutheran congregations that had emigrated from Prussia. In 1843, they founded Martinsville, named in honor of Martin Luther; the New Berlin for the people of Bergtholz in Germany; St. Johnsburg, an offshoot of Bergtholz, and New Walmore, also founded in 1843, named for Walmore in Prussia. A distillery was put up where the Bennett Lumber Company is now located (in River road, North Tonawanda). This afterward burned and later, during the Civil War, a shingle mill run by J. S. Bliss and Company on Tonawanda Creek, below Webster street, was turned into a distillery to meet the demands of the government. Whisky was made here and large numbers of pigs were driven from the South to feed on the refuse from these places. These distilleries made the neighborhood notorious. A brewery was also built on the river where the present Brewery Building stands, which was later replaced by the present structure. After the war, Batt, who was now in the mill of Bliss and Company, threw out the distillery and made the place into a shingle and lumber mill. The Hook and Ladder Company was organized in 1871 and quarters in a steam fire engine were added. This was bought the next year. In 1884 horses were used for the first time. A gas company was organized and streets were lighted with gas lamps. The Tonawanda City waterworks company was incorporated. At this time the New York Central Railroad was building a swing bridge, passenger station, and double track road in Tonawanda. The Bell Telephone Company was organized in 1880 and the waterworks system was in operation in 1887 on the South side. The Electric Light Company started in 1890 and the same year sewer systems were adopted and several streets were paved. Up to this time Webster street had required stepping blocks to cross the road through mud in Spring. The first indication of a railroad in this vicinity was published in a petition circulated by Mr. Cooke, which was about the time the place was laid out. The merchants were desirous of a railroad and the petition had a respectable hearing before the canal was completed to the top of the hill and placed the port under a windlass. The first horse car was from Tonawanda to Buffalo in 1834. Buffalo to Black Rock in 1834. In 1832 the Buffalo and Erie Company was chartered, and built the first railroad from Buffalo to Tonawanda in 1836. One month after this the line was pushed through to the Falls. The next year the three miles from Black Rock to Buffalo were completed. The road from Buffalo to Lockport was completed in 1851-52, and in 1852-53, the Canandaigua to the Falls on the Peanut road was built. The material for the roadbed was taken from the gravel pit. The first streetcar line from Tonawanda to Buffalo was laid about 1895. The first rails laid for the steam roads were made of wood with an iron band across the top where there was the greatest wear from the wheels. The engines were run with wood and there were then extensive wood sheds built for the purpose. The "trains" consisted of the engine, coal or rather wood car, and one or two coaches, each of which would seat eight people. About 1854 the New York Central leased these roads and equipped them with better rails of rolling stock.
North Tonawanda was early scene of Indian life, settlers, Jacobs Tavern and the War of 1812, etc, article (Lewis, Ton News, 1957-05 0672).jpg
Same material appears in a 1965 series by the same author. 1843 date of East Boston Company's arrival is incorrect (1833).
Early history of Twin Cities, La Salle, Fort Niagara, War of 1812, settlers, article (Ton News, 1959-06-12).jpg
Tonawandans have fought loyally, War of 1812 and first settlers, military history, article (Ton News, 1965-06-26).jpg
Some early NT history, article (Tonawanda News, 1963-11-09).jpg
First land sold in Tonas brough 25c acre, article, Local History Chapter 15, Mrs Elias Root (Ton news, 1947-05-15)
NT was one of last cities of Niagara County, article p1 (Williams, WPA, 1936-09-19, 2408).jpg
Recounts early history of Goundry, Sweeney; Settlers Burges, Pettit, Carney and more; incorporation etc.
One of the earliest residents of present-day North Tonawanda. Lived near the Niagara River at present-day Wheatfield Street. Operated a public house? Gave his name to Pettit Creek which formerly ran through the Avenues. Builds a log house in 1809 (1936 TN atrticle). First appears on 1810 U. S. Census in Niagara County > Cambria Township, one adult male, one adult female, 2 young girls. An anecdote exists (source?) that during the War of 1812, on the night of 12/19/13, the men there heard noises coming down the Miltary (River) road. To put off the apparent enemy, they decided to roll a wagon repeatedly over the corduroy road, shouting military things, attempting to affect a great force of men there. It turned out to be other U. S. men. 1820 census: Six children (2 girls and 2 boys under 10 and 2 teenage girls), and two adults (one male and one female). One person involved in agriculture. (A Mary Pickard listed separately). 1830 census: a J Pettit in Clarence, young boys, one young girl and one 20-30 girl, maybe not same household? 1840: No obvious matches in immediate area 1830s+: Grantor Index of the Land assessment, Niagara, shows many transactions by and among the Pettits (Abraham, Lawton, Hiram, William O., Benjamin D, Jenme, Alexander, Enoch, Reuben, Curtis, George, John, etc.
Pioneer History of the Holland Purchase, complete book (Orasmus Turner, 1849).pdf
Embracing Some Account of the Ancient Remains ... and a History of Pioneer Settlement Under the Auspices of the Holland Company; Including Reminiscences of the War of 1812; the Origin, Progress and Completion of the Erie Canal, Etc., Etc., Etc This fascinating volume contains a wide variety of early WNY lore. Elsewhere on this site the reader may find excerpted portions pertaining to our special interests: Tonawanda: Horatio Jones, the early mounds of Tonawanda Island. There is also a good deal of material dedicated to the War of 1812: Page 590 begins description of McClure's rashness in burning of Newark. Flight of the "motley throng" eastward down the Ridge Road to Forsyth's. Aid of the Tuscarora. Invalid Judge Cook at Lewiston shooting Indians from an ox sled. The following summer (British) Indians pillaged occasionally from occupied Fort Niagara. Sparrow Sage and a "female companion" abducted, he axes them (592). (December 23rdish, 1813) Eighteen Mile Creek and destruction of Lake Road dwellings, Van Horn Mill (mansion not built for a few more years). "Seldom has there been a more peaceable and humane march of invaders through a conquered territory. " (593). Brought "fifteen or sixteen" men back to Niagara as prisoners. Moves onto Black Rock landing, Buffalo's shoddy defense, the "disgraceful" spectacle of retreating soldiers passing fleeing families: "The rout, the hasty, panic stricken retreat, the unnecessary surrender ing of a frontier, and its then largest village, to the arms and the a torch of an invading foe, not formidable either in numbers or military prowess" (597). Still credits the behavior of the settlers in the aggregate. "Before daylight, the citizens of Buffalo were fully apprised of the feeble and ill managed defence at Black Rock; of its prospect of failure. Tidings that all was hopeless, had reached them , and were confirmed by the hasty retreat of squads of militia, who were making palpable demonstrations of their innate love of life, in their eagerness to outstrip each other in the race that was taking them beyond the reach of danger" (Ibid). Col Cyrenius Chapin's surrender and terms. (Chapin had been opposed to McClure's misdeed). Gave time for citizens to escape. British officers liquor be hidden to keep Indians from getting out of control. Lt. Riddle and the Williamsville 40 march on British, not knowing about the treaty, and provide rationale for British to resume burning. They contest the authority of Chapin to surrender, fire cannon? Chapin winds up prisoner and taken to Montreal. The Buffalo Road filled with all manner of retreating humanity, descriptions of occasional rallies to fight. Pity, as invaders were marred by timidity and cowardice, did not deserve their spoils. Description of the gloom and privation throughout the Holland Purchase that followed, as the invaders hunkered down at Niagara. Letters follow. "Twelve thousand souls" depopulated. Legislative aid. President Madison dispatched Gen. Cass to Niagara Frontier to describe scene. He writes a scathing report to the Sec of War: "The fall of Niagara has been owing to the most criminal negligence. The force in it was fully competent to its defence. The commanding officer, Captain Leonard, it is confidently said, was at his own house, three miles from the fort, and all the other officers appear to have rested in as much security as though no enemy was near them . Captains Roge and Hampton, both of the 34th, had comp in the fort. Both of them were absent from it. Their conduct ought to be strictly investigated. I am also told that Major Wallace of the 5th , was in the fort. He escaped and is now at Erie." (604-5). "From the most careful examination, I am satisfied that not more than six hundred and fifty men, of regulars, militia and Indians, landed at Black Rock. To oppose these we had from two thousand five hundred to three thousand militia. All except a very few of them, behaved in the most cowardly manner. They fled without discharging a musket." Redemption in Sortie of Fort Erie.
Buffalo During the War of 1812, book excerpt (Publications of the Buffalo Historical Society, Vol 1. pp 194-209, 1879).jpg
Papers Relating to the Burning of Buffalo, and to the Niagara Frontier Prior to and During the War Of 1812 (also book here)
Slim for Him, Fair Havens Church, ad (1982-11-06).jpg
Goundry Street International Railway waiting room, photo (c1910).png
Fenton and Sons Box And Lumber Co., advertising postcard (c1908).jpg
Gratwick School, two photos (c.1970).jpg
Cheerleaders behind Payne Avenue high school, yearbook photo (1954).jpg
Senator John F. Kennedy at North Tonawanda City Hall, photos and complete text of his speech (1960-09-28).jpg
The senator visited North Tonawanda as part of his campaign for president. Complete speech: REMARKS OF SENATOR JOHN F. KENNEDY, NORTH TONAWANDA, NEW YORK, SEPTEMBER 28, 1960 SENATOR KENNEDY: Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Mayor, Mr. Pendergast, Mr. Levitt, Mayor Wagner. The last Presidential candidate to come into this particular area of New York was Al Smith in 1928. Governor Smith in that campaign and in many campaigns preceding it used as his basic slogan the motto, "Let's look at the record," and he compared what he had done in New York State and he compared the record of the Democratic Party over the preceding years to that of the Republican Party. I say in 1960, let's look at the record. Mr. Nixon has stated that party labels don't mean very much in 1960. I think they mean a good deal, because they tell something about the candidates of both parties. The Republicans never would have nominated me, and the Democrats never would have nominated Mr. Nixon. They nominated Mr. Nixon because they knew where he stood, because they knew that he believed in the things for which they believed in, and I do not. I think that is the issue in this campaign. Are we going to move forward or are we going to stand still? Are we going to send a green light to the 1960's? Are we going to feel that everything is being done today is as good as we can do? I think the record of the Democratic Party written in this century, written in the last 25 years, establishes a sound basis for us in the 1960's, and that is a record of service to the people, of believing that however good this country may be, it can be better. This country has been made by people who were not satisfied. The whole Western United States was developed by people who wanted to better themselves. The United States was built by people who came from other sections because they thought they could have a better life. Mr. Nixon says I am running America down. I am not. I am trying to build America up. What I am saying is that with vigorous leadership, with leadership which will realize the potential of this country, this country can maintain its own freedom and the freedom of those who look to us for help. This is an important election, and I come to you in 1960, in October and September, asking your assistance. This is not merely a contest between Mr. Nixon and myself. It is a contest between two parties, and it is a contest between two parties which have had a different philosophy during their political tradition. All through our history in this century, the Democratic Party has looked to the future, with Woodrow Wilson's New Freedom, and Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal and Harry Truman's Fair Deal. We have looked ahead, and I ask you to look ahead in this country. We face an extremely difficult and hazardous time. I don't think the office of the Presidency is going to be easy. I think in many ways the job of the next President will be more difficult than any president since Abraham Lincoln, and it isn't merely the office of the President – I think the job of an average citizen in the United States, the responsibilities that he will face, are more difficult and burdensome than they have been ever in the past. When Presidential candidates ran many years ago, they discussed only a few issues, because only a few issues disturbed our tranquility. Now the issues which face us are not merely to maintain employment in Niagara County, not merely to develop the resources of Northern New York, not merely to make a better life for our people in New York State and in the United States. Now the President, and therefore the people, have to be concerned with the Congo and Cuba and Laos, countries which most of us had never heard of ten years ago, and yet which will affect the lives of everyone here – Guinea, Ghana, countries which were colonial countries two years ago now independent. What they do will affect the security of your children in every school in this country. Therefore, we stand as the dominant force in the Coalition for freedom which must move strongly in the next ten years. I ask your support in this campaign, not merely because I think we can move this country here at home, but also because I think if we do the things at home that must be done, I think it is possible for us to stand once again in the world, not as a dominant power, but as the leader of a coalition of countries who wish to associate with us, Latin America, Africa, and Asia. I wish we could worry just about our own problems, but I do disagree strongly with those who say that they are conservatives at home and risk takers abroad. I think that we have to move here at home. I think we have to carry a big stick, and I think, as Theodore Roosevelt said, we should speak softly. We want peace. We want security for ourselves. We want to maintain life in this continent and this planet. We want freedom to expand, and I think the best way we can do it is to do our job here in this state and here in this country. Build a better life for our people and then what we do here will speak far more loudly than what we say. This is a contest of nerve and will. The next ten, fifteen or twenty years may determine the outcome. The Soviet system and our system are on trial. The question will be which system has the longest staying power? Which can maintain itself in good times and bad? Which can serve as an inspiration to people around the world? Do they want to move with them or with us? Khrushchev and the President of the United States, only personify the two sides. The real question is which system and which people have the power, the will, the determination and the conviction? I think we do. I think our future can be assured, but I think we have a responsibility to ourselves and to those who look to us to move in this country, to set before ourselves our unfinished business, and then get to it. I ask your help in this campaign, and I can assure you that if we are successful, we are going to work to make the United States not first if, but, or when, but first, period. And we are going to move. Thank you. (Applause) Source: Papers of John F. Kennedy. Pre-Presidential Papers. Senate Files, Box 912, "North Tonawanda, New York, 28 September 1960." John F. Kennedy Presidential Library.
J&T Charlton Lumber, letterhead, letter and info from eBay seller (1903-11-05).jpg
An Electric Man, photos from article (Strand Magazine, Vol. 20, 1900-02ish).jpg
P. W. Scribner Lumber Company, map detail (1893).jpg
P. W. Scribner business description, book excerpt (Commerce, Manufactures and Resources of Buffalo and Environs, 1880).jpg
Former Bestaste Mini Markets, photos (Dennis Reed Jr., 2016-03-08).jpg
Vacant Bestaste Mini Mkts, sketches (Dennis Reed Jr, 2019).jpeg
The brick building labeled "to be erected" was apparently never built, as later maps show the lot still vacant.
East side of Oliver Street not built up much past 3rd Avenue, 1908 map detail.jpg
Riverside Chemical Co., Frontier brand cooking extracts, illustrated ad (1931-05-28).pdf
Will fight explosion damages, article (Tonawanda News, 1923-08-01).pdf
Trial of Derby damage action, two defendants named, article (Tonawanda News, 1923-03-30).jpg
Fox has a narrow escape...Frontier Company, article (Tonawanda News, 1923-04-10 part 1 0767).jpg
Eleven killed by explosion at Tonawanda, article (New York Tribune, 1920-11-01).pdf
SOCONY Kerosene oil dealers, A. Rudzinski, 653 Oliver, ad (1916-04-29).pdf
Holiday Mini Markets, ad (Tonawanda News, 1975-11-17).pdf
Loot stolen from N.T. grocery store returned, Rudzinsky's, 653 Oliver, article (1931-11-02).jpg
The looters began to feel the heat when cops were asking questions. The hams et al would be worth $2,924.12 in 2022.
Holiday Mini Markets, ad (1983-06-14).pdf