1 200 48 https://nthistory.com/files/original/baabc4e66c17e5d924b29f90e8997e50.jpg 1ff9b7c5f2d0bfeddbdbfb5cfe0f0cf4 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Gratwick School Description An account of the resource The first schoolhouse in the village of Gratwick is a one-room frame building put up by the education-minded Germans in 1885 (Crosbie). Built in 1892, Public School Number 4 opens at Payne and Stenzil in 1894. It is enlarged in 1924, and at least once thereafter. In area known as <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/Report_of_the_Superintendent_of_Public_I/h0A_AAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=wheatfield%20niagara%20school&pg=PA144&printsec=frontcover">Kohl's Woods</a>? Photo A photographic depiction of a person or place. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Gratwick School wins trophy for county bicycle safety campaign, photos (1948-04).jpg Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1948-04 gratwick person school https://nthistory.com/files/original/175ecf432eeedf59d5cb39c55f4913da.jpg 0bd68b2cd692a5645a8e6c4d50002161 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Gratwick School Description An account of the resource The first schoolhouse in the village of Gratwick is a one-room frame building put up by the education-minded Germans in 1885 (Crosbie). Built in 1892, Public School Number 4 opens at Payne and Stenzil in 1894. It is enlarged in 1924, and at least once thereafter. In area known as <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/Report_of_the_Superintendent_of_Public_I/h0A_AAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=wheatfield%20niagara%20school&pg=PA144&printsec=frontcover">Kohl's Woods</a>? Photo A photographic depiction of a person or place. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Gratwick School History, faculty (1906).jpg Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1906 gratwick https://nthistory.com/files/original/3f393a521a21770f11989ea8835dd518.jpg 70c79944fff2abe2bb9078dd6d05228d Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Gratwick School Description An account of the resource The first schoolhouse in the village of Gratwick is a one-room frame building put up by the education-minded Germans in 1885 (Crosbie). Built in 1892, Public School Number 4 opens at Payne and Stenzil in 1894. It is enlarged in 1924, and at least once thereafter. In area known as <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/Report_of_the_Superintendent_of_Public_I/h0A_AAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=wheatfield%20niagara%20school&pg=PA144&printsec=frontcover">Kohl's Woods</a>? Article Text appearing in a newspaper. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Gratwick School elms getting a haircut, photo article (1949-04).jpg Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1949-04 gratwick person school https://nthistory.com/files/original/06f4433bf04c93780b0eeeef104ff88c.jpg adfe1328f03fd964e3beeef7099d2857 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Gratwick School Description An account of the resource The first schoolhouse in the village of Gratwick is a one-room frame building put up by the education-minded Germans in 1885 (Crosbie). Built in 1892, Public School Number 4 opens at Payne and Stenzil in 1894. It is enlarged in 1924, and at least once thereafter. In area known as <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/Report_of_the_Superintendent_of_Public_I/h0A_AAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=wheatfield%20niagara%20school&pg=PA144&printsec=frontcover">Kohl's Woods</a>? Photo A photographic depiction of a person or place. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Gratwick School county bicycle safety campaign, photos (1948-04).jpg Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1948-04 gratwick person school https://nthistory.com/files/original/25e90fe07b4c08fbd96165cc1def586d.jpeg 85327a0cf28aeff222f09d006007ab52 https://nthistory.com/files/original/ad9b7b5518fe591c2eba2fd60bcd1c27.jpeg cbe81285d2b1ae544ca2e90683eff0af https://nthistory.com/files/original/0516f935fc857237669cb2fdd4c65e2d.jpeg 4d653c7a3fc1c8614387cb98b41910ff https://nthistory.com/files/original/9653ecdf5d6c6aaee9e1796bb2c8102a.jpeg 0782c369add7797615cedb47ebdb7922 https://nthistory.com/files/original/f6b551409f766f1bb0dfd77fe52de5a5.jpeg c1c93777c8a006b5dbabceab2fdc739e https://nthistory.com/files/original/301d913c5d3327aa28d20606b790de08.jpeg 4e7f352d7386beb314a62e06e7f585e4 https://nthistory.com/files/original/67242331b61335a9faceef77a251d4d2.jpeg 2c024ad3ee237249971ff5ca9b1083ac Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Riverside Chemical Company (1906-present) Description An account of the resource From <a href="http://www.rivchem.com/about.html">their website</a>: <blockquote> Riverside Chemical was founded in 1906 by A. C. Rasch. The business started running out of the basement of a grocery store at the corner of Oliver Street and Porter Avenue in North Tonawanda, NY. In those beginning years, the company focused on household supplies such as ammonia, bluing, vanilla extract and other extracts. Mr. Rasch founded the company on the simple principle of providing a good product, for a good price, with special attention to customer service and community involvement. Later Mr. Rasch began manufacturing products to serve the needs of horse drawn wagons and industrial machines. The company produced axle grease and other grease for machinery, as well as leather oils, harness preservatives and hoof dressing. When the automobile age began, Mr. Rasch developed a non-chatter oil for Model T cars which launched the company into a new era. Dr. Carl H. Rasch (1904-1980) In 1929 the company moved their facility to the current location on River Road in North Tonawanda, NY. During the 1940's and 1950's the company was managed by A. C. Rasch's sons, George A. Rasch and Dr. Carl H. Rasch. In 1959 Dr. Carl H. Rasch was appointed as President of the company. Dr Rasch had worked at Riverside since the early 1930's, and had also earned Ph.D. Degrees in Chemical Engineering from the University of Buffalo and the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Rasch was responsible for another large growth period in the company as he expanded the business product lines to include high purity chemicals and food grade additives as well as dramatically increasing their industrial product lines. Dr. Rasch remained President until he passed away in 1980. The 1980s began the third generation of the family run business as Dr. Carl H. Rasch's sons Peter C. Rasch became President and Jon A. Rasch as Vice President. Both had worked for Riverside for many years before taking charge in 1980. Peter Rasch has continued to grow the business, while also minding the principals that had been set by his grandfather so many years ago. Riverside's success has been enhanced by its high ethical business practices; commitment to community, customers, employees and the environment. </blockquote> Object Photos or illustrations of artifacts of an entity. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Riverside Chemical Company, brochure (c.1958).jpg Description An account of the resource Company photos and history. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1958 collection gratwick logotype https://nthistory.com/files/original/22f75a47f1997321f5d966f9d424592d.png cd8e9fe21801bc8e85281152a006a746 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Riverside Chemical Company (1906-present) Description An account of the resource From <a href="http://www.rivchem.com/about.html">their website</a>: <blockquote> Riverside Chemical was founded in 1906 by A. C. Rasch. The business started running out of the basement of a grocery store at the corner of Oliver Street and Porter Avenue in North Tonawanda, NY. In those beginning years, the company focused on household supplies such as ammonia, bluing, vanilla extract and other extracts. Mr. Rasch founded the company on the simple principle of providing a good product, for a good price, with special attention to customer service and community involvement. Later Mr. Rasch began manufacturing products to serve the needs of horse drawn wagons and industrial machines. The company produced axle grease and other grease for machinery, as well as leather oils, harness preservatives and hoof dressing. When the automobile age began, Mr. Rasch developed a non-chatter oil for Model T cars which launched the company into a new era. Dr. Carl H. Rasch (1904-1980) In 1929 the company moved their facility to the current location on River Road in North Tonawanda, NY. During the 1940's and 1950's the company was managed by A. C. Rasch's sons, George A. Rasch and Dr. Carl H. Rasch. In 1959 Dr. Carl H. Rasch was appointed as President of the company. Dr Rasch had worked at Riverside since the early 1930's, and had also earned Ph.D. Degrees in Chemical Engineering from the University of Buffalo and the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Rasch was responsible for another large growth period in the company as he expanded the business product lines to include high purity chemicals and food grade additives as well as dramatically increasing their industrial product lines. Dr. Rasch remained President until he passed away in 1980. The 1980s began the third generation of the family run business as Dr. Carl H. Rasch's sons Peter C. Rasch became President and Jon A. Rasch as Vice President. Both had worked for Riverside for many years before taking charge in 1980. Peter Rasch has continued to grow the business, while also minding the principals that had been set by his grandfather so many years ago. Riverside's success has been enhanced by its high ethical business practices; commitment to community, customers, employees and the environment. </blockquote> Photo A photographic depiction of a person or place. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Site of Riverside Chemical Company, 1194 Oliver Street, photo (Google, 2021).png Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2021 building gratwick https://nthistory.com/files/original/238652e7a4796fe15e8d2f05ee9cf960.jpg 91e1b479419de2c6a8a68039fde78a44 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Avenues / Ironton (Neighborhood) Description An account of the resource <img class="cover" src="http://www.nthistory.com/custom/cover/83e.jpg" alt="Ironton and First Ave in 2024. Photo by Dennis Reed Jr" />Ironton Street and First Ave in 2024. Photo by Dennis Reed Jr See also: <a href="https://www.nthistory.com/articles/lost-village-of-ironton/">The lost village of Ironton and the birth of the Avenues</a> and <a href="https://nthistory.com/collections/show/141">Avenues Folk: Mary Kijowski-Konstanty of Fifteenth Ave</a>. Origins of Ironton The "spark" for Ironton arrives in 1873, when Niagara Furnace (later <a href="http://nthistory.com/collections/show/16">Tonawanda Iron and Steel)</a> locates on the banks of the Niagara River near Wheatfield Street. The unofficial village of "Ironton" is named after the promising venture. After initial excitement (and investment in the surrounding land) however, the furnace shuts down after only a year in operation.  Early doings In 1875 map, homes are seen in the lower Avenues. Oliver Street business? Churches. Colonel Payne's estate is still intact across Payne and up to Dahlgren Place, the former northern limit of the early Avenues. Ironton Street from 1880s according to ArcGIS. "From 1880-1890, its population increased form 1,492 to 4,793," (Biographical and portrait cyclopedia of Niagara County, New York, p.110). In 1882, the establishment of a John Cichoki's <a href="http://www.nthistory.com/items/show/1665">tavern on River Road</a> near Wheatfield street <a href="http://www.nthistory.com/items/show/1543">is a foothold</a> for early Polish settlers. Grocers and butchers are nearby. In 1884 a "minor school in a small frame building" is established less than a quarter mile east down Wheatfield at Dahlgren Place (<a href="https://www.nthistory.com/items/show/1477">Buffalo Courier Express, 1905)</a>. In 1889 or 1890, the much larger, Richardsonian Romanesque style <a href="http://nthistory.com/collections/show/64">Ironton Public School #2</a> opens at the corner of 1st Ave and Oliver Street.  The furnace burns again; the River Road industrial corridor The old Niagara Furnace site is expanded and relaunched in 1889 by Tonawanda Iron and Steel. The adjacent marshes and former farms once again become valuable real estate, with "manufacturing interests" courted for the valuable land along the river and railroad tracks. More Poles, Hungarians and others flock to the Avenues, bringing their languages, traditions and chickens with them. An 1891 guidebook describes the real estate situation: <blockquote>It was purchased from Pratt & Jewett by Geo. P. Smith and A. J. Hathaway, Oct. 15, 1889, replatted, and Jan. 1st, 1890, put on the market. Within a year 500 building lots had been sold and 100 houses erected. With June of the present year [1891] the Ironton Land Co. was incorporated with capital of §100,000 and everything bids fair for a prosperous career, as this is the river center of North Tonawanda corporation, and being traversed by all the rail- roads it cannot fail to secure prominent manufacturing interests. The Ironton addition is less than a mile from the North Tonawanda City Hall. With the Iron & Steel Works, the surrounding lumber interests and the bolt and nut works of Plumb, Burdict ct Barnard, which has recently been located on the adjoining property, this section of the city will make a convenient and desirable place for mechanics and business firms. It has the water supply, electric lights, and will soon be connected by the electric street car line. A double two story brick block for stores has just been completed on Oliver street, making a nice addition to the mercantile conveniences there, a $15,000 brick school house was erected a couple of years since, a church dedicated in August and this section has all the modern conveniences of the older part of the city.</blockquote> Land In November 1889, <a href="https://niagara.nygenweb.net/biography/smithgeorgep1897bio.html">George P. Smith</a> and <a href="https://niagara.nygenweb.net/biography/hathawayaj1897bio.html">A. J. Hathaway</a> buy land opposite the iron works. Incorporation into the City of North Tonawanda The village of "Ironton" (along with the villages of North Tonawanda, Gratwick and Martinsville) is incorporated into the City of North Tonawanda in 1897. The last remnant of the old village name is in its "Ironton Street," running along the west edge of the original avenues. It never had its own post office, or government, but it is an interesting part of the patchwork of the original city that has mostly now vanished from public recall. An increasingly Polish community on the Avenues For the numerous Polish on the <a href="http://www.nthistory.com/items/show/3436">original seven avenues</a>, their church is the center of their community. OLC is established on Center Ave, exactly where the grotto is today. It is later rebuilt just south. <a href="http://www.nthistory.com/collections/show/98">Pettit Creek</a> flows through the area (it will be covered). <a href="http://fultonhistory.com/Newspaper%2011/North%20Tonawanda%20NY%20Evening%20News/North%20Tonawanda%20NY%20Evening%20News%201893%20Jul-Jul%201894%20Grayscale/North%20Tonawanda%20NY%20Evening%20News%201893%20Jul-Jul%201894%20Grayscale%20-%200105.pdf">The paving of Oliver Street being planned August 26, 1893. </a><a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=zCwdAQAAIAAJ&dq=ironton+tonawanda&source=gbs_navlinks_s"> A progress report </a><a href="http://fultonhistory.com/Newspaper%2011/North%20Tonawanda%20NY%20Evening%20News/North%20Tonawanda%20NY%20Evening%20News%201893%20Jul-Jul%201894%20Grayscale/North%20Tonawanda%20NY%20Evening%20News%201893%20Jul-Jul%201894%20Grayscale%20-%200169.pdf">about a month later</a><a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=zCwdAQAAIAAJ&dq=ironton+tonawanda&source=gbs_navlinks_s">. October 5 </a><a href="http://fultonhistory.com/Newspaper%2011/North%20Tonawanda%20NY%20Evening%20News/North%20Tonawanda%20NY%20Evening%20News%201893%20Jul-Jul%201894%20Grayscale/North%20Tonawanda%20NY%20Evening%20News%201893%20Jul-Jul%201894%20Grayscale%20-%200235.pdf">there is labor trouble between Poles and Italians</a><a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=zCwdAQAAIAAJ&dq=ironton+tonawanda&source=gbs_navlinks_s">.</a> The upper avenues remain essentially woods and marshes until the 1940s, when settlement accelerates with the nationwide Baby Boom.  Notes:  * Annual Report of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, of the State of New-York (1884, <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=EEEdAQAAIAAJ">Google Books)</a> Also has lots of details about new Goundry Street school and a brief mention of Gratwick school and enrollment figures.1890 "The village of Tonawanda is up and awake as far as educational matters are concerned. It has a progressive board of education composed of five members, all liberal men in their views. A new brick school building is nearly completed at Ironton, a suburb of the village, that would be a pride to any town."<a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=zCwdAQAAIAAJ&dq=ironton+tonawanda&source=gbs_navlinks_s"> </a> John Carr on Facebook in January 2017: "Go back to the 1800's and my great grandfather's farm, as well as several others, was there, extending from the river inland past Payne. The house was originally along the river. Eventually the lumber yards and steel mills pushed the property, and the house back from the river to Oliver (#849 or #869). In the 1890's, after his death, the property was sold off and developed into individual housing lots. At that time the area was annexed to North Tonawanda, before that the area was part of Wheatfield. Carr Street still exists by the town pool. Many of my great grand parents children and their families had homes in the area. We see the area today pretty much as it was developed then, however modernized a bit and not the capitol of industry it was then." <a href="https://www.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=b5be67cf0e05477e8f4ad3161ab51422">ArcGIS</a> and old map notes: <ul> <li>1860 map show Cap. O. Shepard in a few places. From Ohio. Buried there. H(enry) Rosebrock from Hanover, Germany (1880 Census); H. Luttman German. F. Roney</li> <li>Homes on Ironton Street range between 1870 (96 Ironton), 1880 (144 Ironton) and into the early 1900s. Some Year 0s (e.g., 188).</li> <li>The River Rd - Wheatfield "businesses" at southeast corner are 1900-1930, couple of year 0s, though 1886 map shows SOMETHING there earlier.</li> <li>Weston & Son lumber all around in 1886 maps, Stocum & DeGraff south across Summer</li> <li>Simson Street: Properties start at 1860 (23 Simson), couple 1880s and 0s. "Rua, Joseph M" listed as owned on many.  1875 map it's called "Judd Ave, and names of homeowners are given (several Simsons); Called "Miller" in 1886 map. Early enclave for nearby mill, predating even Iron Works? </li> </ul> Map A diagram of a geographical area's major arteries of transportation, buildings, land owners and terrain. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Avenues, Payne Estate, future Mid-City Plaza, aerial photo (1938).jpg Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1938 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://niagara-county.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html">https://niagara-county.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html</a> avenues gratwick ironton map photo https://nthistory.com/files/original/bd1c956343d5a1b2eb3ae2a298fd303d.jpg 083b33994bd2f06b9971d14bd7566b71 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Avenues Folk: Mary Kijowski-Konstanty, 47 15th Ave. Description An account of the resource <img class="cover" alt="A collage of photographs shows a young girl on the porch of a typical Avenues style home at its center, with an accordion player and men drinking alcohol in others" src="http://www.nthistory.com/custom/cover/141.jpg" />Center: A young Mary Kijowski on the porch of 47 15th Avenue, c.1933. Photos from her personal collection. In North Tonawanda, the Polish ruled the Avenues. The industrious immigrants pour into the city in the late 1800s and early 1900s, snatching up the plentiful work offered by Tonawanda Iron and Steel, the still-booming lumber industry, Buffalo Bolt and others. By 1933 they have established a vibrant  community of over <a href="http://www.nthistory.com/items/show/2943">5,000 people</a>, with its own churches, taverns, community centers, and stores selling the goods needed to support the traditions of their European homeland.  The photos and ephemera in this collection were the personal property of a first-generation Pole living on the Avenues, the late Mary Konstanty (née Kijowski, c.1926-2000). Her Polish-born parents are Szymon (who works at nearby Buffalo Bolt) and Paulina. Mary is the youngest of eight siblings, all born in America between 1911 and 1926. In a <a href="https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GRN1-94PZ?i=8&cc=1488411&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AMVMV-YVS">1920 Census</a> the family is at 21 14th Avenue, squeezed in with another family. By 1926 they have settled at 47 15th Ave. The collection is a vivid snapshot of social life on the Avenues: the men drinking conspicuously and posing with beers on a bench in their tiny backyard; the family farming and ice skating in the unsettled swaths of the upper east Avenues that would be covered by homes after WWII. The sounds of accordions and Polish would have been ringing in the air.  Mary is always smiling in the photos; always seemingly keenly aware of some devilish fun to be had, whether she is posing on a tractor, ice skating, or peeking around a tree with her future husband, John Konstanty II. Only the last, 1980 photo of her shows her unsmiling--perhaps annoyed by the picture-taker as she tries to read her newspaper on her porch in peace.  Her many grandchildren may or may not know it, but Mary Kijowski appears to have been a bit of a wild child. The Tonawanda News has memorialized one case in point: In October 1942, the paper reports that 16 year-old Mary was out after 4 a.m. in a car driven by her friend Helen Polek of 15 14th Avenue. As they turn a corner on Sweeney Street, Mary tumbles out of the open passenger door, suffering "severe" brush burns and a fractured arm. Helen takes her younger friend to De Graff Memorial Hospital, where Mary is admitted for treatment. They may not have had the Internet to record youthful indiscretions in her day, but they had microfilm. Like many women of her time, Mary Kijowski steps up to help keep factories running while the nation is at war. A March 11, 1943 postcard from the U. S. War Manpower Commission invites her to Buffalo for a job interview. She is assigned to the same factory her father works at, Buffalo Bolt. A wonderful photo in this set shows her with other women inside the North Tonawanda factory; another shows her posing proudly in full "Rosie the Riveter" regalia: a do-rag on her head, and a men's plaid shirt tucked into pants that are far too long for her. She marries John Konstanty II in 1952 at Our Lady of Czestochowa Catholic church. They have four children by 1959. John works at Bethlehem Steel and <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%25201959%2520%2520Grayscale%2FNorth%2520Tonawanda%2520NY%2520Evening%2520News%25201959%2520%2520%2520Grayscale%2520-%25201247.pdf%23xml%3Dhttps%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FdtSearch%2Fdtisapi6.dll%3Fcmd%3Dgetpdfhits%26u%3D1ad5d832%26DocId%3D2106552%26Index%3DZ%253a%255cDISK%2520U%26HitCount%3D35%26hits%3De%2Bd2%2B376%2B389%2B3ac%2B3e8%2B3e9%2B418%2B454%2B496%2B4b1%2B531%2B589%2Ba66%2Bb06%2Bb69%2Bb75%2Bbe7%2Bbfb%2Bc95%2Bcad%2Bcd4%2Bcf4%2Bdf3%2Bdf8%2Be51%2Be84%2Beaa%2Bee3%2Bf4e%2Bfb7%2B1023%2B10ab%2B10b0%2B10b7%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%25201959%2520%2520Grayscale%2FNorth%2520Tonawanda%2520NY%2520Evening%2520News%25201959%2520%2520%2520Grayscale%2520-%25201247.pdf&xml=https%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FdtSearch%2Fdtisapi6.dll%3Fcmd%3Dgetpdfhits%26u%3D1ad5d832%26DocId%3D2106552%26Index%3DZ%253a%255cDISK%2520U%26HitCount%3D35%26hits%3De%2Bd2%2B376%2B389%2B3ac%2B3e8%2B3e9%2B418%2B454%2B496%2B4b1%2B531%2B589%2Ba66%2Bb06%2Bb69%2Bb75%2Bbe7%2Bbfb%2Bc95%2Bcad%2Bcd4%2Bcf4%2Bdf3%2Bdf8%2Be51%2Be84%2Beaa%2Bee3%2Bf4e%2Bfb7%2B1023%2B10ab%2B10b0%2B10b7%2B%26SearchForm%3D%252fFulton%255fform%252ehtml%26.pdf&openFirstHlPage=false">runs for alderman</a> that year.  A son, Jeffrey, is born in 1962. Photo A photographic depiction of a person or place. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 47 Fifteenth Ave., aerial photo (1938).jpg Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1938 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived https://niagara-county.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html Description An account of the resource Many of the upper east avenues were still unoccupied in 1938. avenues gratwick ironton map https://nthistory.com/files/original/6cfc281b234135bb42521c910dfcdca0.jpg 5eae92c412b167f14ab996d1de6fb336 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Gratwick School Description An account of the resource The first schoolhouse in the village of Gratwick is a one-room frame building put up by the education-minded Germans in 1885 (Crosbie). Built in 1892, Public School Number 4 opens at Payne and Stenzil in 1894. It is enlarged in 1924, and at least once thereafter. In area known as <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/Report_of_the_Superintendent_of_Public_I/h0A_AAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=wheatfield%20niagara%20school&pg=PA144&printsec=frontcover">Kohl's Woods</a>? Photo A photographic depiction of a person or place. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Gratwick School children mobilize in safety drive, photo (Tonawanda News, 1948-04-23).jpg Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1948-04-23 gratwick person school https://nthistory.com/files/original/e7ebe92250bf6a0dfc04d7e58d2ba3ed.jpg 9ad4ca533d00e1a3ed843d58b7ba2d9e Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Gratwick School Description An account of the resource The first schoolhouse in the village of Gratwick is a one-room frame building put up by the education-minded Germans in 1885 (Crosbie). Built in 1892, Public School Number 4 opens at Payne and Stenzil in 1894. It is enlarged in 1924, and at least once thereafter. In area known as <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/Report_of_the_Superintendent_of_Public_I/h0A_AAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=wheatfield%20niagara%20school&pg=PA144&printsec=frontcover">Kohl's Woods</a>? Photo A photographic depiction of a person or place. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Gratwick School showing 1924 addition, photo (Marjorie Crosby thesis, 1949).jpg Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1924 gratwick school https://nthistory.com/files/original/ddada45aa062a21409bf9e46e9a153eb.jpg 5fc80d0976a0fe02c68ea33e021ddffd Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Gratwick School Description An account of the resource The first schoolhouse in the village of Gratwick is a one-room frame building put up by the education-minded Germans in 1885 (Crosbie). Built in 1892, Public School Number 4 opens at Payne and Stenzil in 1894. It is enlarged in 1924, and at least once thereafter. In area known as <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/Report_of_the_Superintendent_of_Public_I/h0A_AAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=wheatfield%20niagara%20school&pg=PA144&printsec=frontcover">Kohl's Woods</a>? Photo A photographic depiction of a person or place. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Gratwick School playground in winter, photo (Marjorie Crosby thesis, 1949).jpg Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1948-11 gratwick school https://nthistory.com/files/original/78205f097ab850310cccd9d2320dad61.jpg 92e31322356d483cfcf5cd94d783b9c2 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Gratwick School Description An account of the resource The first schoolhouse in the village of Gratwick is a one-room frame building put up by the education-minded Germans in 1885 (Crosbie). Built in 1892, Public School Number 4 opens at Payne and Stenzil in 1894. It is enlarged in 1924, and at least once thereafter. In area known as <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/Report_of_the_Superintendent_of_Public_I/h0A_AAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=wheatfield%20niagara%20school&pg=PA144&printsec=frontcover">Kohl's Woods</a>? Photo A photographic depiction of a person or place. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Gratwick School faculty, photos (Marjorie Crosby thesis, 1949).jpg Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1948 gratwick person school https://nthistory.com/files/original/7adf9512f422c39abe2356a51a747086.jpg ebbb1f34341ae45c59a41a9f2ed7251d Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Gratwick School Description An account of the resource The first schoolhouse in the village of Gratwick is a one-room frame building put up by the education-minded Germans in 1885 (Crosbie). Built in 1892, Public School Number 4 opens at Payne and Stenzil in 1894. It is enlarged in 1924, and at least once thereafter. In area known as <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/Report_of_the_Superintendent_of_Public_I/h0A_AAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=wheatfield%20niagara%20school&pg=PA144&printsec=frontcover">Kohl's Woods</a>? Photo A photographic depiction of a person or place. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Gratwick School before additions, photo c. 1895 (Marjorie Crosby thesis, 1949).jpg Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1895 gratwick school https://nthistory.com/files/original/f28e84fc8dd0b43b7a2f9945af0589de.jpg 708c2af6c5135d770cf5c73ddcdad1c3 https://nthistory.com/files/original/180469cb5ab5cb895097e22325451cb1.jpg 4d9d2e47f453d46cf9ba036764ed56f9 https://nthistory.com/files/original/57d5ca4ce9a4d35b698301840cb1ec9f.jpg 786a4cd5793841f98102fd3033252be2 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Creo-Dipt, Weatherbest Stained Shingles Description An account of the resource AI: By the 1920s, North Tonawanda is a minor empire of stained shingles, dominated by two closely linked firms: Creo-Dipt and Weatherbest. Creo-Dipt begins in 1908 as the Standard Stained Shingle Company in Rochester, developing “creo-dipped” shingles whose creosote treatment is meant to lock color into the wood; the company later relocates its headquarters to North Tonawanda and adopts the Creo-Dipt name. ([mycompanies.fandom.com][1]) From a modest start it builds a national business in chemically treated shingles and stains, heavily advertised in trade journals and glossy catalogs and shipped from multiple plants, including major works in North Tonawanda and Seattle. ([mycompanies.fandom.com][1]) Weatherbest grows out of a stained-shingle concern organized in 1913 (initially called the Transfer Stained Shingle Company), later headquartered on Main Street in North Tonawanda; by the mid-1920s it is marketing red-cedar “Weatherbest” shingles and plan books that promise to turn “old houses into charming homes,” positioning stained shingles as both modern siding and a cheap way to remodel tired frame houses. ([mycompanies.fandom.com][2]) Through the 1920s both companies bombard architects, builders and homeowners with catalogs and national advertising; Creo-Dipt leads the field, with Weatherbest usually ranked a close second in sales. ([mycompanies.fandom.com][1]) In 1937 the two lines are formally pulled together: Creo-Dipt absorbs Weatherbest’s shingle and stain business, Weatherbest continues as a division, and the combined concern carries on selling Western red-cedar stained shingles and related finishes across the United States for several more decades. ([mycompanies.fandom.com][1]) [1]: https://mycompanies.fandom.com/wiki/Creo-Dipt_Company "Creo-Dipt Company | MyCompanies Wiki | Fandom" [2]: https://mycompanies.fandom.com/wiki/Weatherbest_Stained_Shingle_Company "Weatherbest Stained Shingle Company | MyCompanies Wiki | Fandom" In November 1929 Weatherbest Island Street facility nearly wiped out by a disastrous blaze that does an estimated $250,000 in damage and destroys 100 carloads of shingles. Creo-Dipt used creosote to hold the color within the shingle. Postcard A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Twin City Service Station, Tydol, Weatherbest Shingles, pamphlet (c.1920).jpg Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1920 automobile gratwick https://nthistory.com/files/original/c7e443ff0fe34f907bcab58d4ddb2f27.jpg a49b318f85d09dbe3026a757581f86e7 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Gratwick Family: Cumming Photo Collection (c. 1905) Description An account of the resource <img class="cover" alt="Boathouse Gang" src="http://nthistory.com/custom/cover/139.jpg" /> The "Boat House Gang," probably photographed at the Gratwick slip. Colorized by Dennis Reed Jr. In 2018, I was asked by a local woman and family friend  if I could help her scan some c. 1905 glass negatives she inherited from her grandfather William Herbert Cumming, an amateur photographer who marries Treassa E. King January 31, 1905. The amazing and intimate images we found on the long-unseen negatives mostly depict life in the Gratwick section of North Tonawanda, centered around the family home at 130 Fredericka Street. The photos feature New Year's Eve dinners, friends playing croquet, neighborhood kids asked to hold still for the six seconds most exposures took, and Albert posing with his gun and dog. Photo A photographic depiction of a person or place. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource side view of house, Mable standing - Mable moved -_72A6395_.jpg Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1905 gratwick https://nthistory.com/files/original/7fde8e570167e0cb30cc877381c622d6.jpg a98ca2c4fdff50395654256da2288d05 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Gratwick Family: Cumming Photo Collection (c. 1905) Description An account of the resource <img class="cover" alt="Boathouse Gang" src="http://nthistory.com/custom/cover/139.jpg" /> The "Boat House Gang," probably photographed at the Gratwick slip. Colorized by Dennis Reed Jr. In 2018, I was asked by a local woman and family friend  if I could help her scan some c. 1905 glass negatives she inherited from her grandfather William Herbert Cumming, an amateur photographer who marries Treassa E. King January 31, 1905. The amazing and intimate images we found on the long-unseen negatives mostly depict life in the Gratwick section of North Tonawanda, centered around the family home at 130 Fredericka Street. The photos feature New Year's Eve dinners, friends playing croquet, neighborhood kids asked to hold still for the six seconds most exposures took, and Albert posing with his gun and dog. Photo A photographic depiction of a person or place. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Side view house, mother and father standing -_72A6382_.jpg Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1905 gratwick https://nthistory.com/files/original/b29f5e3db67010dbfc648755f0a26508.jpg 0176798b9612fd3e3c73f08b454f33b5 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Gratwick Family: Cumming Photo Collection (c. 1905) Description An account of the resource <img class="cover" alt="Boathouse Gang" src="http://nthistory.com/custom/cover/139.jpg" /> The "Boat House Gang," probably photographed at the Gratwick slip. Colorized by Dennis Reed Jr. In 2018, I was asked by a local woman and family friend  if I could help her scan some c. 1905 glass negatives she inherited from her grandfather William Herbert Cumming, an amateur photographer who marries Treassa E. King January 31, 1905. The amazing and intimate images we found on the long-unseen negatives mostly depict life in the Gratwick section of North Tonawanda, centered around the family home at 130 Fredericka Street. The photos feature New Year's Eve dinners, friends playing croquet, neighborhood kids asked to hold still for the six seconds most exposures took, and Albert posing with his gun and dog. Photo A photographic depiction of a person or place. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Cummings house (130 Fredericka Street)-_72A6360_.jpg Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1905 gratwick https://nthistory.com/files/original/a99fd3d42be44ce3bca6114cfeb49ba1.jpg fe06848100eb04eba2231dcc0efba21c Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Gratwick Family: Cumming Photo Collection (c. 1905) Description An account of the resource <img class="cover" alt="Boathouse Gang" src="http://nthistory.com/custom/cover/139.jpg" /> The "Boat House Gang," probably photographed at the Gratwick slip. Colorized by Dennis Reed Jr. In 2018, I was asked by a local woman and family friend  if I could help her scan some c. 1905 glass negatives she inherited from her grandfather William Herbert Cumming, an amateur photographer who marries Treassa E. King January 31, 1905. The amazing and intimate images we found on the long-unseen negatives mostly depict life in the Gratwick section of North Tonawanda, centered around the family home at 130 Fredericka Street. The photos feature New Year's Eve dinners, friends playing croquet, neighborhood kids asked to hold still for the six seconds most exposures took, and Albert posing with his gun and dog. Photo A photographic depiction of a person or place. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource croquet grounds, July -_72A6393_.jpg Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1905 gratwick person https://nthistory.com/files/original/2da75bd7649079ea9b429a025ad25bf8.jpg 12ddde823b604e8bb5e81322ecb8bf74 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Gratwick Family: Cumming Photo Collection (c. 1905) Description An account of the resource <img class="cover" alt="Boathouse Gang" src="http://nthistory.com/custom/cover/139.jpg" /> The "Boat House Gang," probably photographed at the Gratwick slip. Colorized by Dennis Reed Jr. In 2018, I was asked by a local woman and family friend  if I could help her scan some c. 1905 glass negatives she inherited from her grandfather William Herbert Cumming, an amateur photographer who marries Treassa E. King January 31, 1905. The amazing and intimate images we found on the long-unseen negatives mostly depict life in the Gratwick section of North Tonawanda, centered around the family home at 130 Fredericka Street. The photos feature New Year's Eve dinners, friends playing croquet, neighborhood kids asked to hold still for the six seconds most exposures took, and Albert posing with his gun and dog. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Bert layin in croquet ground -_72A6371_.jpg Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1905 gratwick https://nthistory.com/files/original/86462bfa91d7e4099c83aee10fde2e63.jpg 75d74145a097fdc3dda4428302d77f19 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Gratwick (Neighborhood) Description An account of the resource <img class="cover" alt="Map of Gratwick area and dockage illustration" src="http://www.nthistory.com/custom/cover/93b.jpg" />1877 SurveyIn 1870 W. H. Gratwick of Buffalo purchases 50 acres along the Niagara River from Benjamin Felton and John Simson. By 1879 the White, Gratwick & Mitchell Lumber Company has a planing mill and substantial lumberyards on the site. They employ 450 men, mostly of German origin, who settle northeast of the facilities. The village’s main street, Felton, is named after Benjamin F. Felton. By 1884 there is a "neat frame" school house with one teacher and 30 pupils, built by Felton (school board president at the time). Gratwick is incorporated into the City of North Tonawanda in 1897. From the guidebook "<a href="http://www.nthistory.com/items/show/608">North Tonawanda and Tonawanda</a>" (1891): <blockquote>Among the pioneers in the wholesale lumber trade of this place was W.H. Gratwick, who, in 1870, purchased fifty acres from Hon. John Simson and B.F. Felton, adjoining the Niagara River, about two miles below the mouth of Tonawanda Creek, and started a lumberyard. A half dozen years later P.W. Ledoux built the sash, door, and blind factory, which a few years later was purchased by Parks & Son, who operated the same until its recent purchase by Hollister Brothers. Mr. Gratwick erected a large planing mill in 1879, and from that time forward the place has steadily grown until it now has about 1,000 inhabitants. The lumber and mill interests of Gratwick, Smith & Fryer, Touawanda Lumber Co., and Hollister Brothers will be mentioned on other pages. Augustus Miller. — After the lumber interests, the next manufactory of importance in Gratwick is the wagon shop at the corner of Oliver and Felton streets. This was built in 1887 by August Miller, and besides doing all kinds of blacksmith and iron repair work, puts up a quantity of wagons, trucks, and other new work. Mr. Miller employs from five to ten men and has added an important industry to Gratwick, in a line of diversified manufacturing for which there is much room for development. Churches, Schools, Etc. — A class of the Methodist Episcopal church was organized in Gratwick in 1887, and the membership, a short time afterwards, commenced the erection of a church, which with lot, is worth about $3,000. This Avas dedicated in 1889 and has been in charge of Rev. J.S. Duxbury up to the present writing. St. Peter's German Evangelical church was organized April 5, 1888, by Rev. Kottler and the house of worship erected the same year. Rev. Conrad Bachman, who was educated at the missionschool ot Basle, Switzerland, came to this charge in October, 1888, and teaches the parochial school. Some sixty families are connected with this church. Gratwick has a public school with about 100 pupils, a brass band, two hose companies, and other societies; numerous hotels, stores, coal offices, and abundance of saloons. It was made a part of North Tonawanda corporation the present year, since which it has been placed in connection with the water mains, has electric lights, and other corporation advantages. Riverside. — From Gratwick station to the corporation limits on the west is nearly a mile, and as the river presents a graceful curve and nice beach in this vicinity, it has been proposed to call the station which will probably be located one and a half miles below Gratwick, "Riverside." Last year the Riverside Land Co. was incorporated and purchased forty acres on the north side of the Erie railroad, mostly within the new corporate limits. The officers are H.E. Warner, Pres.; J.A. Kuck, of Buflalo, V.P.; Charles W. Archibald, of North Tonawanda, Sec, and L. Landauer, of Albion, Treas. Bluff Point. — E.A. Milliman, a farmer and contractor, of Wheatfield town, has been seven times appointed a deputy collector, which office he now holds. Mr. Milliman owns a handsome farm of 120 acres at Bluff Point, bounded on the west and south by the Niagara River. The river at this point has a clean gravel shore with high bluff, making a delightful place for a summer location. Editor's note: <a href="http://www.nthistory.com/items/show/607">1878 illustration and modern photo</a> G.F. Goerss, also a deputy collector, owns a fifty-acre farm near the mile line, which is handsomely located and will presently be within the radius of development. Last year he erected a dwelling in Gratwick. Mr. Goerss was born in Wheatfield and is an authority on real estate values. He has been supervisor, J.P., Justice of Sessions, and in 1887-8 a member of Assembly.</blockquote> <a href="http://www.nthistory.com/items/browse?tags=gratwick">More items tagged "Gratwick" ></a> Photo A photographic depiction of a person or place. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Boathouses along Gratwick Slip, photo from article (Tonawanda News, 1962-12-04).jpg Description An account of the resource Later demolished. See full article: Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1962-12-04 boathouse gratwick https://nthistory.com/files/original/9f3bc49c2b1fecf34e5dd30da06d456c.jpeg 9f314db2fd2c968f5497ac82c7998874 https://nthistory.com/files/original/528c0513cfc916918ab90654d8bf29b6.jpeg 79820ddc08b4154a48701c3d61abb9e6 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Gratwick School Description An account of the resource The first schoolhouse in the village of Gratwick is a one-room frame building put up by the education-minded Germans in 1885 (Crosbie). Built in 1892, Public School Number 4 opens at Payne and Stenzil in 1894. It is enlarged in 1924, and at least once thereafter. In area known as <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/Report_of_the_Superintendent_of_Public_I/h0A_AAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=wheatfield%20niagara%20school&pg=PA144&printsec=frontcover">Kohl's Woods</a>? Photo A photographic depiction of a person or place. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Gratwick School, two photos (c.1970).jpg Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1970 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Scott Farrel gratwick photo school https://nthistory.com/files/original/1691f3c2dde7b9ee21e4102820487246.jpg f182fc00b257f684ebd3bbfd26a1339e Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Firefighting in the Tonawandas Description An account of the resource <img class="cover" src="https://www.nthistory.com/custom/cover/80.jpg" alt="Gratwick Hose No.6, Felton Street, c.1929" />Gratwick Hose No.6, Felton Street, c.1929 <blockquote>The greatest enemy the lumbermen had was fire. Annually it destroyed millions of dollars of lumber and cost many lives. A step forward came on May 7, 1876, when twenty of the most prominent residents of the Village of North Tonawanda gathered together in the school house at the corner of Main and Tremont Streets and formed themselves into a Company for the protection of property against the ravages of fire.  The newly formed Company petitioned the Village Board and in special session on May 15, 1876, the board approved and appointed them firemen of the Village and their company was called the North Tonawanda Bucket Company, later to be called the Columbia Hook and Ladder Company No. 1. North Tonawanda depended heavily on Volunteer Firemen and quickly grew to seven companies located at important places around the city.</blockquote> - Sarah E. Walter's thesis (nthistorymuseum.org). Allan Herschell "helped to organize the first fire company of North Tonawanda" (Biographical and portrait cyclopedia of Niagara County, New York, p.361). <table border="1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="1" align="center"> <tbody> <tr> <td>Started</td> <td>Name</td> <td>Notes</td> </tr> <tr> <td>May 7, 1876</td> <td>North Tonawanda Bucket Company / Columbia Hook and Ladder Company No.1</td> <td>Thompson in 1893 directory</td> </tr> <tr> <td>March 1, 1886</td> <td>Active Hose Company No.2</td> <td>"Ironton Boys", Robinson south of Marion in 1893</td> </tr> <tr> <td>1886-1909</td> <td>Hydrant Hose Company No.3</td> <td>Sweeney and Main at bridge</td> </tr> <tr> <td>April 1887</td> <td>Live Active Hose Co. No.4</td> <td> Thompson St (1893), now Goundry and Vandervoort</td> </tr> <tr> <td>January 26, 1891</td> <td>Rescue Fire Company No.5</td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>1886?</td> <td><a href="https://yellow.place/en/gratwick-hose-fire-company-6-north-tonawanda-usa">Gratwick Hose Company No.6</a></td> <td>Felton until 1962.</td> </tr> <tr> <td>1894</td> <td>Sweeney Hose No.7</td> <td> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> Of Hydrant Hose Co. No. 3, it was said somewhere: <blockquote>The fighting crew of the old Hydrant Hose Company liked to fight fires so much, they would first fight the men of any other fire company who raced to a North Tonawanda fire to see who got the pleasure of conquering the flames. Often the flames ended up as the victor as the firefighters spent their energies in a brawl rather than on the element of nature.</blockquote> According to Harry Dorn in an article in this set, <blockquote>The Tonawanda Fire Dept. was organized in the early 1860s when the Village of Tonawanda had a population of 2,000...One of the frst companies was the Shepard Hose Company which after several years was known as the DeGraff Hose, Hydrant Hose Company and thewn on Aug 25, 1898 became National Hose No.1 [Ed. Hydrant Hose appears in newspaper record until at least early 1900s].</blockquote> Columbia Hook & Ladder in The Tonawanda News, May 9, 1896: <blockquote>Monday, June 15, has been selected as the date of the Firemen's Annual Parade. It is expected that it will prove of more than ordinary interest as unusual efforts will be put forth this year to make it an enjoyable spectacular affair. In this connection it is interesting to note that Thursday of this week was the twentieth anniversary of the founding of the first fire company In North Tonawanda. Previous to this date North Tonawanda had paid Tonawanda $300 a year for the fire protection that the Tonawanda companies afforded. The parent company of North Tonawanda was the Columbia Hook and Ladder Company; it is still in existence, but is now one of eight splendid companies of which North Tonawanda can boast. As before stated it was organized May 7, 1876, and its first president was Frank Fellows. It was organized under a famous old hickory tree which stood on the ground now occupied by the parsonage of the First Methodist Church. Nicholas Beckrich was the first foreman of this company and other members of this crack organization were John E. Oelkers, Frank Batt, H. U. Berger, M. J. Wattengel, W. P. Hayes, Jno. Spillman, Aug. Duckwitz, Fred Schultz, Isaac Gardei, Geo. Miller, John Haas, Julius Miller and others. A number of these early firemen are numbered among the most prominent residents of North Tonawanda but it is with considerable pleasure that they recall the days of their early triumphs.</blockquote> Photo A photographic depiction of a person or place. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Gratwick Hose No. 6, group photo, cabinet card, Wittkowsky (c1925).jpg Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1925 cabinet card firefighter gratwick person https://nthistory.com/files/original/3b80f23bb083089f4f1d0f83ee34f825.jpg 695baca7b94d839a09c5cdd2f17b1314 https://nthistory.com/files/original/8b8455c23518cee5efe50dec687b3123.jpg 220d4a3deac4630a4d09dda48b128aba Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Early Accounts of the Tonawandas Description An account of the resource These book excerpts and articles describe the earliest days of the white settlers in the Tonawandas, as well as the nearby villages of Martinsville, Sawyer's Station, Gratwick and Ironton (incorporated into the city of North Tonawanda in 1897). Article Text appearing in a newspaper. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Gratwick, descriptive sketch (excerpt from the book, North Tonawanda and Tonawanda - The Lumber City, 1891).jpg Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1891-02 gratwick https://nthistory.com/files/original/23bb05ce744f700028e646531cc3d8d7.jpg a736ee497d8784f71a4057eca1094fd6 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Gratwick Family: Cumming Photo Collection (c. 1905) Description An account of the resource <img class="cover" alt="Boathouse Gang" src="http://nthistory.com/custom/cover/139.jpg" /> The "Boat House Gang," probably photographed at the Gratwick slip. Colorized by Dennis Reed Jr. In 2018, I was asked by a local woman and family friend  if I could help her scan some c. 1905 glass negatives she inherited from her grandfather William Herbert Cumming, an amateur photographer who marries Treassa E. King January 31, 1905. The amazing and intimate images we found on the long-unseen negatives mostly depict life in the Gratwick section of North Tonawanda, centered around the family home at 130 Fredericka Street. The photos feature New Year's Eve dinners, friends playing croquet, neighborhood kids asked to hold still for the six seconds most exposures took, and Albert posing with his gun and dog. Video A moving picture. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource VIDEO: The Cumming Family of Gratwick (Featuring photos c. 1905).vid Description An account of the resource A family's old (c1905) box of glass negatives reveals fascinating views into the early days of the Gratwick community. Watch for the chicken! Narrated by the photographer's granddaughter, Linda Cumming Nadbrzuch. Produced by Dennis Reed Jr for NThistory.com. <iframe width="900" height="506" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/UyhLDTqtg0A?rel=0" frameborder="0"></iframe> Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1905 gratwick https://nthistory.com/files/original/24608a25dc876d0a117b20db5cc4f210.jpg c90fda9a5c1e8c3f9ef16237998e2e45 https://nthistory.com/files/original/f9fb42d915952c3463fa4cf29152ba96.jpg 19107d8576f96f046a140a55ec1f5c11 https://nthistory.com/files/original/189dfc850d3b44ea00e01184658ea61b.jpg 5104ef964dc93c85b83c8d9c50165a69 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Gratwick (Neighborhood) Description An account of the resource <img class="cover" alt="Map of Gratwick area and dockage illustration" src="http://www.nthistory.com/custom/cover/93b.jpg" />1877 SurveyIn 1870 W. H. Gratwick of Buffalo purchases 50 acres along the Niagara River from Benjamin Felton and John Simson. By 1879 the White, Gratwick & Mitchell Lumber Company has a planing mill and substantial lumberyards on the site. They employ 450 men, mostly of German origin, who settle northeast of the facilities. The village’s main street, Felton, is named after Benjamin F. Felton. By 1884 there is a "neat frame" school house with one teacher and 30 pupils, built by Felton (school board president at the time). Gratwick is incorporated into the City of North Tonawanda in 1897. From the guidebook "<a href="http://www.nthistory.com/items/show/608">North Tonawanda and Tonawanda</a>" (1891): <blockquote>Among the pioneers in the wholesale lumber trade of this place was W.H. Gratwick, who, in 1870, purchased fifty acres from Hon. John Simson and B.F. Felton, adjoining the Niagara River, about two miles below the mouth of Tonawanda Creek, and started a lumberyard. A half dozen years later P.W. Ledoux built the sash, door, and blind factory, which a few years later was purchased by Parks & Son, who operated the same until its recent purchase by Hollister Brothers. Mr. Gratwick erected a large planing mill in 1879, and from that time forward the place has steadily grown until it now has about 1,000 inhabitants. The lumber and mill interests of Gratwick, Smith & Fryer, Touawanda Lumber Co., and Hollister Brothers will be mentioned on other pages. Augustus Miller. — After the lumber interests, the next manufactory of importance in Gratwick is the wagon shop at the corner of Oliver and Felton streets. This was built in 1887 by August Miller, and besides doing all kinds of blacksmith and iron repair work, puts up a quantity of wagons, trucks, and other new work. Mr. Miller employs from five to ten men and has added an important industry to Gratwick, in a line of diversified manufacturing for which there is much room for development. Churches, Schools, Etc. — A class of the Methodist Episcopal church was organized in Gratwick in 1887, and the membership, a short time afterwards, commenced the erection of a church, which with lot, is worth about $3,000. This Avas dedicated in 1889 and has been in charge of Rev. J.S. Duxbury up to the present writing. St. Peter's German Evangelical church was organized April 5, 1888, by Rev. Kottler and the house of worship erected the same year. Rev. Conrad Bachman, who was educated at the missionschool ot Basle, Switzerland, came to this charge in October, 1888, and teaches the parochial school. Some sixty families are connected with this church. Gratwick has a public school with about 100 pupils, a brass band, two hose companies, and other societies; numerous hotels, stores, coal offices, and abundance of saloons. It was made a part of North Tonawanda corporation the present year, since which it has been placed in connection with the water mains, has electric lights, and other corporation advantages. Riverside. — From Gratwick station to the corporation limits on the west is nearly a mile, and as the river presents a graceful curve and nice beach in this vicinity, it has been proposed to call the station which will probably be located one and a half miles below Gratwick, "Riverside." Last year the Riverside Land Co. was incorporated and purchased forty acres on the north side of the Erie railroad, mostly within the new corporate limits. The officers are H.E. Warner, Pres.; J.A. Kuck, of Buflalo, V.P.; Charles W. Archibald, of North Tonawanda, Sec, and L. Landauer, of Albion, Treas. Bluff Point. — E.A. Milliman, a farmer and contractor, of Wheatfield town, has been seven times appointed a deputy collector, which office he now holds. Mr. Milliman owns a handsome farm of 120 acres at Bluff Point, bounded on the west and south by the Niagara River. The river at this point has a clean gravel shore with high bluff, making a delightful place for a summer location. Editor's note: <a href="http://www.nthistory.com/items/show/607">1878 illustration and modern photo</a> G.F. Goerss, also a deputy collector, owns a fifty-acre farm near the mile line, which is handsomely located and will presently be within the radius of development. Last year he erected a dwelling in Gratwick. Mr. Goerss was born in Wheatfield and is an authority on real estate values. He has been supervisor, J.P., Justice of Sessions, and in 1887-8 a member of Assembly.</blockquote> <a href="http://www.nthistory.com/items/browse?tags=gratwick">More items tagged "Gratwick" ></a> Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Gratwick Slip boathouse gang, photo (Cumming Family, c1905).jpg Description An account of the resource A slip on the Niagara River was lined with boathouses south of the (projected) foot of East Ave. Today it is the North Tonawanda Water Wastewater Treatment Plant. PHOTOS: c1905. Map: 1951. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1905 boathouse gratwick map person https://nthistory.com/files/original/0a8812639dab07f82adc1d65f326b35a.jpg 1ddce5e1b3aa3a97d69ff9bc15aea82b Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Boathouse Park, Weatherbest Slip Description An account of the resource <img class="cover" alt="Boathouse Park" src="http://nthistory.com/custom/cover/124.jpg" /> PHOTO: Dennis Reed Jr. Around the junction of Tonawanda Creek and the "Little River" three small slips cut into the land. The slips were dug in the 1870s to accommodate Great Lakes and other vessels necessary to North Tonawanda's world-class lumber industry (<a href="http://www.nthistory.com/items/show/2668">Buffalo News</a>, 2006). Great piles of lumber towered around them. That lumber industry, as residents know, eventually moves elsewhere. By the 1950s* dozens of private boathouses occupy the area. The city owns the property; the boaters own the structures, pay taxes on them, and lease the land annually. In 1965 the city of North Tonawanda sells the land to the boathouse owners at their request, only to have the sale almost immediately deemed illegal by Mayor Durkee, and nullified. Still, the annual lease continues. In the 1970s the boathouse residents' status becomes contentious when the county health department threatens to fine the city steeply for the effluvium the boathouse residents are releasing into the Little River. The city threatens to evict tenants, to stop renewing leases, and—at the nadir of the clash—to turn off water service to the area. After all, the city argues, the lease does not permit use of the boathouses as living quarters. The park residents' right to enjoy the waterfront property at the exclusion of all other city  residents is also called into question. One mayor wants to evict the tenants and turn the area into a carousel park. In the 1980s developer Wilbur Holler wants to turn the area into townhouses. None of these plans is successful. In 2008 a row of boathouses is demolished, as they are built over a city sewer. But in 2021 the community appears to be all but intractable. *It is unclear how long the structures have been there; <a href="http://www.nthistory.com/items/show/2688" style="font-size: 0.8em;">a similar slip at Gratwick</a> (since demolished for the wastewater plant) appears to have had boathouses since at least 1905. Article Text appearing in a newspaper. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Council orders legal actions to evict boathouse owners, Riverfront lease system in NT, photo article (Tonawanda News, 1962-12-04) .jpg Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1962-12-04 Description An account of the resource Weatherbest and Gratwick slips pictured boathouse gratwick https://nthistory.com/files/original/7a8a7cf617e71c1646e4298aa247b185.jpg 9e0dea2c9748d439a96974b6d2cb21ce https://nthistory.com/files/original/29b8cbc14922b0d28463523367b81d94.jpg 35da049bf898e61df42e6f3cd50d1268 https://nthistory.com/files/original/bb0b516bdeab5777620fe1936479ce93.jpg a3aaa39d6bf1d589afda1c9ff97af3d5 https://nthistory.com/files/original/38cd5be15548ba0f7c3cf94dca761b48.jpg a1a5bee8d8126d5b07c2e70548b5211d https://nthistory.com/files/original/54ba7224482916948c9b30ef1d9881ae.jpg 17e6c59667f88f2cb0dfae021d24d8c6 https://nthistory.com/files/original/961eeaa59ea71a2b627714f892c16f3c.jpg 16afe8168269d531e1dd83c3524c7cf4 https://nthistory.com/files/original/2e1a5f495249d2e259d866ddae97f4e6.jpg e00bc6c51abfa058e5dd4031ea1e2de1 https://nthistory.com/files/original/019937a1b13b8e2fc0e29057843909f8.jpg 28e4086ffbef532b757dc84a87ec0b99 https://nthistory.com/files/original/93417e567cbc75cd813eafd4ab9a96c6.jpg ac1efc0495915d2e6c997df1a62caaae https://nthistory.com/files/original/f4f0d36bc91123de9d0df14d0a2fa9a7.jpg 55d69ad8e1f57c085d1f7732477318ec https://nthistory.com/files/original/bfd3a7e9ce9f8a35bdd99eaedeabc3f5.jpg 36c0e43de42d2e2810f4e6d8bdc48a07 Photo A photographic depiction of a person or place. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Oliver Street photo collection (1947).jpg Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1947 gratwick ironton oliver village https://nthistory.com/files/original/6440cb1c3b0993b80d796917ca79a7a7.jpg d6f1ecb9b7fcde3904dde4213852da71 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Buffalo Bolt, Roblin Steel Description An account of the resource Formerly situated on Oliver Street near East Ave., this longtime employer got its start in Amsterdam, N.Y. in 1855. They moved to a small two-story brick at the corner of Clinton & Adams Streets in Buffalo, where the brilliant Orrin C. Burdict joined the firm, and began inventing many superior machines. They were known as Plumb , Burdict & Barnard for a time. Eventually they extended to Eagle Street. In 1897 they were forced to suspended activities as patent expiration hurt their business. Soon after R. H. Plumb, the senior partner, removed the machinery to North Tonawanda, using steam for a few years until Niagara Falls electricity prevailed. From: <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=uo5PAQAAMAAJ&lpg=PA225&ots=HsKZ916Mg0&dq=%22Buffalo%20Bolt%22%201855&pg=PA225#v=onepage&q=%22Buffalo%20Bolt%22%201855&f=false">History of the Bolt and Nut Industry of America</a> by W. R. Wilbur Illustration An abstracted line drawing or depiction. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Works of the Buffalo Bolt Plant, illustration (Greater Buffalo NY Industrial Commercial, 1914).jpg Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1914 factory gratwick ironton https://nthistory.com/files/original/fbfa6b5acc63aa01d6b57c6607c5191e.jpg 63b61cd7fb84443709443a9ba7d417fe Photo A photographic depiction of a person or place. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Gratwick Lanes bar, photo (c.1945).jpg Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1945 bar gratwick https://nthistory.com/files/original/82bbdccfe667d43483a8ef7e0aad3930.jpg e5214bd976ccb2593a39793f65dbdfe1 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Tonawanda Lumber and Saw Mill Co. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Tonawanda Lumber and Saw Mill Co., Gratwick Station, map detail (1893).jpg Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1893 gratwick https://nthistory.com/files/original/a1e824b9ba84e82a1065f82ae7905d9c.jpg d0342bd4fe96fe71a57dad94953a9fe4 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Gratwick School Description An account of the resource The first schoolhouse in the village of Gratwick is a one-room frame building put up by the education-minded Germans in 1885 (Crosbie). Built in 1892, Public School Number 4 opens at Payne and Stenzil in 1894. It is enlarged in 1924, and at least once thereafter. In area known as <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/Report_of_the_Superintendent_of_Public_I/h0A_AAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=wheatfield%20niagara%20school&pg=PA144&printsec=frontcover">Kohl's Woods</a>? Object Photos or illustrations of artifacts of an entity. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Gratwick Landmarkers, sweatshirt (1979).jpg Description An account of the resource 85th anniversary Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1979 gratwick https://nthistory.com/files/original/d33075666584d59e1eda15194cd12bd7.jpg b6ad72e879fbf4130c87a46215834fe0 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Gratwick School Description An account of the resource The first schoolhouse in the village of Gratwick is a one-room frame building put up by the education-minded Germans in 1885 (Crosbie). Built in 1892, Public School Number 4 opens at Payne and Stenzil in 1894. It is enlarged in 1924, and at least once thereafter. In area known as <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/Report_of_the_Superintendent_of_Public_I/h0A_AAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=wheatfield%20niagara%20school&pg=PA144&printsec=frontcover">Kohl's Woods</a>? Illustration An abstracted line drawing or depiction. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Gratwick Elementary School, illustration (Paul Lachacz).jpg Description An account of the resource By Paul Lachacz gratwick school https://nthistory.com/files/original/cdc62c8a005ff94244761e7619b01e0f.jpg ec0fa4547074e96db95e1621b689520f Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Gratwick (Neighborhood) Description An account of the resource <img class="cover" alt="Map of Gratwick area and dockage illustration" src="http://www.nthistory.com/custom/cover/93b.jpg" />1877 SurveyIn 1870 W. H. Gratwick of Buffalo purchases 50 acres along the Niagara River from Benjamin Felton and John Simson. By 1879 the White, Gratwick & Mitchell Lumber Company has a planing mill and substantial lumberyards on the site. They employ 450 men, mostly of German origin, who settle northeast of the facilities. The village’s main street, Felton, is named after Benjamin F. Felton. By 1884 there is a "neat frame" school house with one teacher and 30 pupils, built by Felton (school board president at the time). Gratwick is incorporated into the City of North Tonawanda in 1897. From the guidebook "<a href="http://www.nthistory.com/items/show/608">North Tonawanda and Tonawanda</a>" (1891): <blockquote>Among the pioneers in the wholesale lumber trade of this place was W.H. Gratwick, who, in 1870, purchased fifty acres from Hon. John Simson and B.F. Felton, adjoining the Niagara River, about two miles below the mouth of Tonawanda Creek, and started a lumberyard. A half dozen years later P.W. Ledoux built the sash, door, and blind factory, which a few years later was purchased by Parks & Son, who operated the same until its recent purchase by Hollister Brothers. Mr. Gratwick erected a large planing mill in 1879, and from that time forward the place has steadily grown until it now has about 1,000 inhabitants. The lumber and mill interests of Gratwick, Smith & Fryer, Touawanda Lumber Co., and Hollister Brothers will be mentioned on other pages. Augustus Miller. — After the lumber interests, the next manufactory of importance in Gratwick is the wagon shop at the corner of Oliver and Felton streets. This was built in 1887 by August Miller, and besides doing all kinds of blacksmith and iron repair work, puts up a quantity of wagons, trucks, and other new work. Mr. Miller employs from five to ten men and has added an important industry to Gratwick, in a line of diversified manufacturing for which there is much room for development. Churches, Schools, Etc. — A class of the Methodist Episcopal church was organized in Gratwick in 1887, and the membership, a short time afterwards, commenced the erection of a church, which with lot, is worth about $3,000. This Avas dedicated in 1889 and has been in charge of Rev. J.S. Duxbury up to the present writing. St. Peter's German Evangelical church was organized April 5, 1888, by Rev. Kottler and the house of worship erected the same year. Rev. Conrad Bachman, who was educated at the missionschool ot Basle, Switzerland, came to this charge in October, 1888, and teaches the parochial school. Some sixty families are connected with this church. Gratwick has a public school with about 100 pupils, a brass band, two hose companies, and other societies; numerous hotels, stores, coal offices, and abundance of saloons. It was made a part of North Tonawanda corporation the present year, since which it has been placed in connection with the water mains, has electric lights, and other corporation advantages. Riverside. — From Gratwick station to the corporation limits on the west is nearly a mile, and as the river presents a graceful curve and nice beach in this vicinity, it has been proposed to call the station which will probably be located one and a half miles below Gratwick, "Riverside." Last year the Riverside Land Co. was incorporated and purchased forty acres on the north side of the Erie railroad, mostly within the new corporate limits. The officers are H.E. Warner, Pres.; J.A. Kuck, of Buflalo, V.P.; Charles W. Archibald, of North Tonawanda, Sec, and L. Landauer, of Albion, Treas. Bluff Point. — E.A. Milliman, a farmer and contractor, of Wheatfield town, has been seven times appointed a deputy collector, which office he now holds. Mr. Milliman owns a handsome farm of 120 acres at Bluff Point, bounded on the west and south by the Niagara River. The river at this point has a clean gravel shore with high bluff, making a delightful place for a summer location. Editor's note: <a href="http://www.nthistory.com/items/show/607">1878 illustration and modern photo</a> G.F. Goerss, also a deputy collector, owns a fifty-acre farm near the mile line, which is handsomely located and will presently be within the radius of development. Last year he erected a dwelling in Gratwick. Mr. Goerss was born in Wheatfield and is an authority on real estate values. He has been supervisor, J.P., Justice of Sessions, and in 1887-8 a member of Assembly.</blockquote> <a href="http://www.nthistory.com/items/browse?tags=gratwick">More items tagged "Gratwick" ></a> Illustration An abstracted line drawing or depiction. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Docks, yards and planing mills of Gratwick, Smith and Fryer Lumber Co., illustration from booklet (c1880).jpg Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1880 gratwick https://nthistory.com/files/original/105f87cf4673bc6425d729e6285503c9.jpg 1ab1150290de758cb5edd7676d66de05 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Goundry Street School Description An account of the resource The Goundry Street School was a stone building constructed in 1866. From <a href="http://www.nthistory.com/items/show/606">History of Niagara County 1821-1878</a> (1878): <blockquote>The North Tonawanda Union School has four departments and four teachers. The last winter term averaged 190 scholars and the summer term 125, J. W. Brown is principal, with Libbie M. Pugsley, Hannah Densmore, and Nellie Becker as assistants. The whole number of scholars of school age is 674. The school-house was erected in 1866. The board of education consists of Benjamin F. Felton, president; H. O. Nightingale, clerk; Dr. C. Backer, Giles Schell and John Chadwick. The school building is a substantial stone edifice, located at one of the most pleasant points in the village. The yards in front and play grounds are kept in good condition.</blockquote> In late 1882 a new addition is built in front of and connected to the original schoolhouse. Another addition is made in 1892. In 1955, after 89 years of educating students, the "bell atop Goundry School...sounds the call to classes for the last time." After some time as a school administration building, the historic old structure is scheduled to be razed on October 27, 1975. Article Text appearing in a newspaper. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Goundry, Ironton and Gratwick schools, Annual Report of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, excerpt (1884).jpg Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1884 gratwick ironton martinsville https://nthistory.com/files/original/53ba22683b3eafd35af028170f374f63.jpg ec3a57506502a5564887574ace80425f Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Art of North Tonawanda by Dennis Reed Jr Description An account of the resource I am not only interested in local history, but I also enjoy sketching and painting local scenes! <a href="mailto:info@nthistory.com">Email me</a> to buy prints of any of the art here, or follow my art through my <a href="https://www.facebook.com/agenbyte">Facebook group</a>. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource North Tonawanda neighborhoods, illustrated map by Dennis Reed Jr (2016).jpg Description An account of the resource The product of historical research, community feedback, and my own imagination. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2016-11 avenues gratwick ironton martinsville midcity neighborhoods spruce wurlitzerpark https://nthistory.com/files/original/d80c9f5e1808cba0a1eb5de468861785.jpg 57f591452256aaa150b52277d2bda144 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Tonawanda Lumber and Saw Mill Co. Advertisement A graphic or text document produced by an entity for promotional purposes. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Tonawanda Lumber and Saw Mill, Gratwick Station, ad (Tonawanda News, 1893-09-29.jpg Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1893-09-29 Description An account of the resource On 1893 atlas, their planing mill and dockage on the Niagara river is the northernmost in the city, with Gratwick, Smith and Frye their souther neighbors. gratwick https://nthistory.com/files/original/8d758fc656ef80f775039579c218e0c1.jpg c0b0d9c2a0541fe422b6c3a268911383 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Gratwick School Description An account of the resource The first schoolhouse in the village of Gratwick is a one-room frame building put up by the education-minded Germans in 1885 (Crosbie). Built in 1892, Public School Number 4 opens at Payne and Stenzil in 1894. It is enlarged in 1924, and at least once thereafter. In area known as <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/Report_of_the_Superintendent_of_Public_I/h0A_AAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=wheatfield%20niagara%20school&pg=PA144&printsec=frontcover">Kohl's Woods</a>? Photo A photographic depiction of a person or place. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Gratwick School, photo (1990).jpg Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1990 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Kathleen Hay via Facebook. gratwick https://nthistory.com/files/original/7ecc2aad300d82d32e506f516991a01e.jpg c2b74a9067639d203b54c6dbce8ad20c Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Gratwick School Description An account of the resource The first schoolhouse in the village of Gratwick is a one-room frame building put up by the education-minded Germans in 1885 (Crosbie). Built in 1892, Public School Number 4 opens at Payne and Stenzil in 1894. It is enlarged in 1924, and at least once thereafter. In area known as <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/Report_of_the_Superintendent_of_Public_I/h0A_AAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=wheatfield%20niagara%20school&pg=PA144&printsec=frontcover">Kohl's Woods</a>? Photo A photographic depiction of a person or place. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Gratwick School, photo (c1960).jpg Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1960 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Gary Scozzafava via Facebook gratwick https://nthistory.com/files/original/95aa34f055693074ee90fae7a43721bf.jpg e06acdd4f553c803f4fcd37ba9e50ecb Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Gratwick School Description An account of the resource The first schoolhouse in the village of Gratwick is a one-room frame building put up by the education-minded Germans in 1885 (Crosbie). Built in 1892, Public School Number 4 opens at Payne and Stenzil in 1894. It is enlarged in 1924, and at least once thereafter. In area known as <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/Report_of_the_Superintendent_of_Public_I/h0A_AAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=wheatfield%20niagara%20school&pg=PA144&printsec=frontcover">Kohl's Woods</a>? Photo A photographic depiction of a person or place. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Gratwick School, kindergarten class photo (1962).jpg Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1962 Description An account of the resource Identifications made via Facebook: "Teacher: Miss Ann Aliamo/Mrs. Sandino. The top row first photo is Ann Miller, 3rd row 6th is Rob Chorny and bottom row 5th photo is Tim Sexton- all part of the group from Fredericka Street (Oliver to Winter). That's Curtis Reed, second row, second from the right next to Susan Zelowhoski." A reader (Linda Chorny Himes) writes: "The first child in the top row is Ann Miller, she lived on Fredericka Street. My brother, Rob Chorny, who is also in the photo and I lived across the street from the Millers." Kathleen Brown Hay (NTHS 1963) says: "The girl in top row next to teacher is Jill Ann Brown. The second row from the bottom, the second photo from the right is Janice Barrett." gratwick https://nthistory.com/files/original/9bbb874110ec8a77c33d78691ef9680d.jpg 630fe0570190a6c041086089f182e01d https://nthistory.com/files/original/10c0855bb4d44bad9fc30906b1993b67.jpg 0e8636c93d6292415d8a19be015db1b1 https://nthistory.com/files/original/727a8d250538e25c9f125440ebcb93e9.jpg 1122904101cbb7f66715b29c8be33767 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Gratwick (Neighborhood) Description An account of the resource <img class="cover" alt="Map of Gratwick area and dockage illustration" src="http://www.nthistory.com/custom/cover/93b.jpg" />1877 SurveyIn 1870 W. H. Gratwick of Buffalo purchases 50 acres along the Niagara River from Benjamin Felton and John Simson. By 1879 the White, Gratwick & Mitchell Lumber Company has a planing mill and substantial lumberyards on the site. They employ 450 men, mostly of German origin, who settle northeast of the facilities. The village’s main street, Felton, is named after Benjamin F. Felton. By 1884 there is a "neat frame" school house with one teacher and 30 pupils, built by Felton (school board president at the time). Gratwick is incorporated into the City of North Tonawanda in 1897. From the guidebook "<a href="http://www.nthistory.com/items/show/608">North Tonawanda and Tonawanda</a>" (1891): <blockquote>Among the pioneers in the wholesale lumber trade of this place was W.H. Gratwick, who, in 1870, purchased fifty acres from Hon. John Simson and B.F. Felton, adjoining the Niagara River, about two miles below the mouth of Tonawanda Creek, and started a lumberyard. A half dozen years later P.W. Ledoux built the sash, door, and blind factory, which a few years later was purchased by Parks & Son, who operated the same until its recent purchase by Hollister Brothers. Mr. Gratwick erected a large planing mill in 1879, and from that time forward the place has steadily grown until it now has about 1,000 inhabitants. The lumber and mill interests of Gratwick, Smith & Fryer, Touawanda Lumber Co., and Hollister Brothers will be mentioned on other pages. Augustus Miller. — After the lumber interests, the next manufactory of importance in Gratwick is the wagon shop at the corner of Oliver and Felton streets. This was built in 1887 by August Miller, and besides doing all kinds of blacksmith and iron repair work, puts up a quantity of wagons, trucks, and other new work. Mr. Miller employs from five to ten men and has added an important industry to Gratwick, in a line of diversified manufacturing for which there is much room for development. Churches, Schools, Etc. — A class of the Methodist Episcopal church was organized in Gratwick in 1887, and the membership, a short time afterwards, commenced the erection of a church, which with lot, is worth about $3,000. This Avas dedicated in 1889 and has been in charge of Rev. J.S. Duxbury up to the present writing. St. Peter's German Evangelical church was organized April 5, 1888, by Rev. Kottler and the house of worship erected the same year. Rev. Conrad Bachman, who was educated at the missionschool ot Basle, Switzerland, came to this charge in October, 1888, and teaches the parochial school. Some sixty families are connected with this church. Gratwick has a public school with about 100 pupils, a brass band, two hose companies, and other societies; numerous hotels, stores, coal offices, and abundance of saloons. It was made a part of North Tonawanda corporation the present year, since which it has been placed in connection with the water mains, has electric lights, and other corporation advantages. Riverside. — From Gratwick station to the corporation limits on the west is nearly a mile, and as the river presents a graceful curve and nice beach in this vicinity, it has been proposed to call the station which will probably be located one and a half miles below Gratwick, "Riverside." Last year the Riverside Land Co. was incorporated and purchased forty acres on the north side of the Erie railroad, mostly within the new corporate limits. The officers are H.E. Warner, Pres.; J.A. Kuck, of Buflalo, V.P.; Charles W. Archibald, of North Tonawanda, Sec, and L. Landauer, of Albion, Treas. Bluff Point. — E.A. Milliman, a farmer and contractor, of Wheatfield town, has been seven times appointed a deputy collector, which office he now holds. Mr. Milliman owns a handsome farm of 120 acres at Bluff Point, bounded on the west and south by the Niagara River. The river at this point has a clean gravel shore with high bluff, making a delightful place for a summer location. Editor's note: <a href="http://www.nthistory.com/items/show/607">1878 illustration and modern photo</a> G.F. Goerss, also a deputy collector, owns a fifty-acre farm near the mile line, which is handsomely located and will presently be within the radius of development. Last year he erected a dwelling in Gratwick. Mr. Goerss was born in Wheatfield and is an authority on real estate values. He has been supervisor, J.P., Justice of Sessions, and in 1887-8 a member of Assembly.</blockquote> <a href="http://www.nthistory.com/items/browse?tags=gratwick">More items tagged "Gratwick" ></a> People A painting or photograph of a person and / or a brief biographical description. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Gratwick, William H. (1839-1899).jpg Description An account of the resource From <a href="http://buffaloah.com/a/archs/rich/richgrat/">Buffalo as an Architectural Museum</a>: <blockquote>[William H.] Gratwick was born in Albany, NY. After he learned the lumber trade, he came to Buffalo in 1877 and founded the lumber firm of Gratwick, Smith & Fryer Lumber Co. with offices in Buffalo, Tonawanda, and Detroit. He was also the managing owner of six lake vessels and president of the YMCA. The William H. Gratwick House stood at 776 Delaware Avenue at the northwest corner of Delaware and Summer. It was Richardson's last commission, according to his biographer Mariana Van Rensselaer, before he died in 1886. A heavy, brownstone Richardsonian Romanesque building, it was finished by the firm that continued Richardson's practice --Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge.</blockquote> From <a href="http://www.nthistory.com/items/show/606">History of Niagara County 1821-1878</a> (1878): <blockquote>Extensive, as are the other yards and docks, astonishment is still further excited upon the premises of W. H. Gratwick & Co., one and a half miles down the river on the Central railroad. The office for the transaction of their business could not be more conveniently and comfortably arranged for employees and customers. W. H. Gratwick, formerly residing in Albany, is now a resident of Buffalo, acting as the local representative of the firm at that point ; the other members associated are Robert S. Fryer, in Albany, under the name of Gratwick, Fryer & Co., and Edward Smith, in Michigan, representing the firm of Smith, Gratwick & Co. The capital they employ in the prosecution of their business is $500,000 ; in the various localities and departments they employ four hundred and fifty men. They own a tract of 31,000 acres of pine land in the northern part of Michigan, where they have two mills that annually turn out 28,000,000 feet which is transported inbarges to Tonawanda and forwarded by rail and canal to eastern markets ; they deal exclusively in their own production. Their docks have a river frontage of 803 feet, with a water slip, doubling the means of storage, and an additional dock in the rear, 600 feet long; in all, 2,200 feet. Tramways have been built for wagon roads, and tracks to receive the cars from the Central and Erie railroads, to be loaded directly from vessels or piles on the docks. The docks, 300 feet out in the river, reach thirteen feet depth of water, sufficient to float the largest craft on the lakes. The cost of land, docks and buildings was $25,000. The stock on hand of planed and dressed lumber averages from 4,000,000 to 8,000,000 feet, with a proportionately large supply of shingles and laths. About four years since, Gratwick & Co. became the pioneers in occupying lots far down the river, an example that others have thought worthy of imitation.</blockquote> Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Photo: A History of Buffalo, Delineating the Evolution of the City By Josephus Nelson Larned, Charles Elliott Fitch, Ellis Henry Roberts, Progress of the Empire state company, New York, pub Published by The Progress of the Empire state company, 1911 (page 228). http://buffaloah.com http://www.gratwick.com/ Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1839 gratwick https://nthistory.com/files/original/c83085efdd5631d5f5c4bc65b6d5ac30.jpg 13d33654f8afd87e6ee787a48bbc5cbf Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Gratwick School Description An account of the resource The first schoolhouse in the village of Gratwick is a one-room frame building put up by the education-minded Germans in 1885 (Crosbie). Built in 1892, Public School Number 4 opens at Payne and Stenzil in 1894. It is enlarged in 1924, and at least once thereafter. In area known as <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/Report_of_the_Superintendent_of_Public_I/h0A_AAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=wheatfield%20niagara%20school&pg=PA144&printsec=frontcover">Kohl's Woods</a>? Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Gratwick Public School No 4, map detail (Sanborn Map Company, 1910, 1913).jpg Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1913 gratwick map https://nthistory.com/files/original/76e39c4e49900946fe3c12487717f9d2.jpg 895088a702cad33376fd8174905a9a95 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Trains and Trolleys Description An account of the resource Trains Soon after the Erie Canal is completed, railroads begin to compete for business. From <a href="https://researchworks.oclc.org/archivegrid/collection/data/930152959">researchworks.oclc.org</a>: <blockquote>In 1834 the Buffalo and Niagara Falls Railroad Company was incorporated to take over the Buffalo and Black Rock Company. It extended the lines to Niagara Falls and into Tonawanda. In 1853 the Buffalo and Niagara Falls Railroad Company was leased by New York Central Railroad and was merged in 1855.</blockquote> From <a href="https://www.niagarafallsinfo.com/niagara-falls-history/niagara-falls-municipal-history/railroads-of-niagara-falls/the-buffalo-niagara-falls-railroad/">niagarafallsinfo.com</a>: <blockquote>The Buffalo & Niagara Falls Railroad was incorporated on May 3rd, 1834. The Legislature of the State of New York passed a law to empower the railroad to construct a single or double track railroad between the City of Buffalo and the <a href="https://www.niagarafallsinfo.com/niagara-falls-history/niagara-falls-municipal-history/the-city-of-the-falls-plan/the-idea-for-the-city-of-the-falls/">Village at Niagara Falls</a>. The railroad had a mandate to operate for a 50 year term and was empowered to absorb all rights, privileges and franchises belonging to the Buffalo and Black Rock Railroad Company, which had been built and was being operated by horse power. The Buffalo & Niagara Falls Railroad began operating in 1845. The 28 mile trip from Buffalo to Niagara Falls was a three hour journey being pulled by a wood stoked steam locomotive.... In 1852, the Buffalo & Niagara Falls Railroad relocated their tracks to the west side of the Erie Canal. On December 22nd 1853, the Buffalo & Niagara Falls Railroad was leased to the New York Central Railroad. On April 23rd 1869, the New York Central Railroad began operations within the Niagara escarpment.</blockquote> From <a href="https://buffalohistory.org/Explore/Exhibits/virtual_exhibits/buffalo_anniversary/175th/page_e1.htm">buffalohistory.org</a>: <blockquote>The Buffalo and Niagara Falls Rail Road was the first in Erie County to use steam locomotives. Service from Black Rock to Tonawanda began in August, 1836; from Buffalo to Tonawanda in September; and by November, 1836, the train ran on a regular schedule between Buffalo & Niagara Falls.</blockquote> Railroads on the maps The <a href="https://nthistory.com/items/show/3974">1837 Tonawanda/Whitehaven map</a> shows the B&NF railroad already established on Webster. It also shows a "Road to Lockport" and a "Proposed railroad to Lockport" heading out "Detroit Street" (later, Goundry Street). In <a href="https://nthistory.com/items/show/1258">this 1838 map</a>, it appears the former "road" hosts a new "Tonawanda & Lockport Railroad." Some more info from <a href="https://www.newyorkcentraltrainstation.org/history-new-york-central-train-station">newyorkcentraltrainstattion.org.</a> By <a href="https://nthistory.com/items/show/3560">1852</a>, a third line, "The Canandaigua and Niagara Falls," is added. From <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elmira_and_Lake_Ontario_Railroad">Wikipedia</a>: <blockquote>On July 1, 1853, the Canandaigua and Niagara Falls Railroad opened between Canandaigua and North Tonawanda. It was also 6 ft (1,829 mm) broad gauge, and was leased by the Canandaigua & Elmira RR, giving it access to the Niagara Falls Suspension Bridge.</blockquote> In <a href="https://nthistory.com/items/show/1664">this 1854 map</a>, The Canandaigua route has changed to run south of the Erie Canal and then be carried over the canal into North Tonawanda at the foot of Oliver street. The cantilever bridge will later be built here. By the time of <a href="https://nthistory.com/items/show/240">this 1875 map</a>, a third railroad crosses the canal into North Tonawanda: The Erie, at the foot of Vandervoort street. As late as 1908, there are still tracks on the east side of Webster street. Looks like the railroad agrees to remove them in December 1921, not sure when it happens. Trolleys Before everybody in North Tonawanda could afford their very own muffler-less Honda Civic to run up and down Oliver Street, trolleys were an important means of personal transportation. Several lines ran throughout the city, moving people to and from their jobs, churches, or just out for a look around. Though they may seem romantic to us now, people griped about the trolleys the same way we complain about snow plows today. Apparently their slow speed was sometimes targeted: An item in this set describes a "well-known peddler" in the Gratwick area who is injured by a trolley car. The author drolly observes, "'Twould have been a real miracle if a Gratwick car could have got up enough speed to have killed him" (Tonawanda News, 1908-2-13). The trolley era did not last long. By the 1920s, the electric streetcar had been passed by the gasoline-powered bus as the most prevalent means of public transportation. Another article in this set from the Tonawanda News, "Carpenter now operates 14 busses in the Tonawandas," outlines the rise of the Carpenter Rapid Transit buses. Article Text appearing in a newspaper. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Peddler struck by Gratwick trolley car, joke, article (Tonawanda News, 1908-02-13).jpg Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1908-02-13 gratwick oddity trolley https://nthistory.com/files/original/851f942526e83220abc298072cc64a4b.jpg a21a296abcc8825ac0a01cf1584cccbd Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Gratwick School Description An account of the resource The first schoolhouse in the village of Gratwick is a one-room frame building put up by the education-minded Germans in 1885 (Crosbie). Built in 1892, Public School Number 4 opens at Payne and Stenzil in 1894. It is enlarged in 1924, and at least once thereafter. In area known as <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/Report_of_the_Superintendent_of_Public_I/h0A_AAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=wheatfield%20niagara%20school&pg=PA144&printsec=frontcover">Kohl's Woods</a>? Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Gratwick School (No.4) on 1908 map.jpg Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1908 gratwick map https://nthistory.com/files/original/8296be4fb78e1aed2c79170479a1e2c1.jpg 1e9c50ffe3c99cbad85dafbc6f689a89 https://nthistory.com/files/original/939addc5e55a9ab8e745aefec6bbf918.jpg e908f2db3c49876d475ea94c654df5c1 https://nthistory.com/files/original/c3eeb3ffffc4e57a147b59b1cc16c900.jpg 8275312ec8038bc7b5f35ee4a4c973a6 https://nthistory.com/files/original/5197e0ae6b9fffcc7807176758484201.jpg 32cf4ebbd601cd509d02d8693075b9b0 https://nthistory.com/files/original/de821694ce576b49f750e9a53a7b9b1c.jpg cdb9000e2059e80f199eaa53198065ff People A painting or photograph of a person and / or a brief biographical description. Birth Date 1827-12-21 Death Date 1905 Birthplace Barre, Worcester county, Massachusetts Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Felton, Benjamin F. (1827-1905).jpg Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1827 Description An account of the resource One of the most prominent early residents of North Tonawanda, Felton is born in Massachusetts in 1827. He moves to Buffalo in 1853, involved in the manufacture of leather goods and stationery. He opens a candy business with his brother at 193 Main Street in Buffalo. In 1865 they are listed at 159 Main Street. He secures an exclusive franchise to sell newspapers on the New York Central and Lake Shore train lines (he later sells this lucrative business as the Union News Company). In 1867 he moves to North Tonawanda with his wife, Ellen. He invests heavily in real estate, at one time owning (with John Simson) all the Niagara River frontage north of Wheatfield Street, and fosters the area's industrial growth as an organizer of the Niagara River Iron Corp (later, Tonawanda Iron and Steel.) Gratwick's Felton Street is named after him. He is a Mason. By the 1870s he is breeding horses and even has a race track on his massive farm bounded by Division Street (Mile Strip Road) road to the west, Rumbold to the north, Tremont Street to the south and "Black" Hannah's woods to the east. His stationery business with his brother continues to be advertised at various Main Street, Buffalo addresses well into the 1870s. In 1876 he is re-elected president of the Tonawanda Driving Association. In 1883, he's Sup't of Niagara County Fair He spends 30 years as president of North Tonawanda's Board of Education. The former Felton School and its nearby orphaned athletic field, Felton Field, still bear his name. Felton is Village President in 1891. He lives at 211 Division when he dies in 1905. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived His obituary gratwick https://nthistory.com/files/original/f00d45f0f6ffef27330c9af2bf4e4003.jpg 3ad971eddc474766060b3a112441c549 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Gratwick (Neighborhood) Description An account of the resource <img class="cover" alt="Map of Gratwick area and dockage illustration" src="http://www.nthistory.com/custom/cover/93b.jpg" />1877 SurveyIn 1870 W. H. Gratwick of Buffalo purchases 50 acres along the Niagara River from Benjamin Felton and John Simson. By 1879 the White, Gratwick & Mitchell Lumber Company has a planing mill and substantial lumberyards on the site. They employ 450 men, mostly of German origin, who settle northeast of the facilities. The village’s main street, Felton, is named after Benjamin F. Felton. By 1884 there is a "neat frame" school house with one teacher and 30 pupils, built by Felton (school board president at the time). Gratwick is incorporated into the City of North Tonawanda in 1897. From the guidebook "<a href="http://www.nthistory.com/items/show/608">North Tonawanda and Tonawanda</a>" (1891): <blockquote>Among the pioneers in the wholesale lumber trade of this place was W.H. Gratwick, who, in 1870, purchased fifty acres from Hon. John Simson and B.F. Felton, adjoining the Niagara River, about two miles below the mouth of Tonawanda Creek, and started a lumberyard. A half dozen years later P.W. Ledoux built the sash, door, and blind factory, which a few years later was purchased by Parks & Son, who operated the same until its recent purchase by Hollister Brothers. Mr. Gratwick erected a large planing mill in 1879, and from that time forward the place has steadily grown until it now has about 1,000 inhabitants. The lumber and mill interests of Gratwick, Smith & Fryer, Touawanda Lumber Co., and Hollister Brothers will be mentioned on other pages. Augustus Miller. — After the lumber interests, the next manufactory of importance in Gratwick is the wagon shop at the corner of Oliver and Felton streets. This was built in 1887 by August Miller, and besides doing all kinds of blacksmith and iron repair work, puts up a quantity of wagons, trucks, and other new work. Mr. Miller employs from five to ten men and has added an important industry to Gratwick, in a line of diversified manufacturing for which there is much room for development. Churches, Schools, Etc. — A class of the Methodist Episcopal church was organized in Gratwick in 1887, and the membership, a short time afterwards, commenced the erection of a church, which with lot, is worth about $3,000. This Avas dedicated in 1889 and has been in charge of Rev. J.S. Duxbury up to the present writing. St. Peter's German Evangelical church was organized April 5, 1888, by Rev. Kottler and the house of worship erected the same year. Rev. Conrad Bachman, who was educated at the missionschool ot Basle, Switzerland, came to this charge in October, 1888, and teaches the parochial school. Some sixty families are connected with this church. Gratwick has a public school with about 100 pupils, a brass band, two hose companies, and other societies; numerous hotels, stores, coal offices, and abundance of saloons. It was made a part of North Tonawanda corporation the present year, since which it has been placed in connection with the water mains, has electric lights, and other corporation advantages. Riverside. — From Gratwick station to the corporation limits on the west is nearly a mile, and as the river presents a graceful curve and nice beach in this vicinity, it has been proposed to call the station which will probably be located one and a half miles below Gratwick, "Riverside." Last year the Riverside Land Co. was incorporated and purchased forty acres on the north side of the Erie railroad, mostly within the new corporate limits. The officers are H.E. Warner, Pres.; J.A. Kuck, of Buflalo, V.P.; Charles W. Archibald, of North Tonawanda, Sec, and L. Landauer, of Albion, Treas. Bluff Point. — E.A. Milliman, a farmer and contractor, of Wheatfield town, has been seven times appointed a deputy collector, which office he now holds. Mr. Milliman owns a handsome farm of 120 acres at Bluff Point, bounded on the west and south by the Niagara River. The river at this point has a clean gravel shore with high bluff, making a delightful place for a summer location. Editor's note: <a href="http://www.nthistory.com/items/show/607">1878 illustration and modern photo</a> G.F. Goerss, also a deputy collector, owns a fifty-acre farm near the mile line, which is handsomely located and will presently be within the radius of development. Last year he erected a dwelling in Gratwick. Mr. Goerss was born in Wheatfield and is an authority on real estate values. He has been supervisor, J.P., Justice of Sessions, and in 1887-8 a member of Assembly.</blockquote> <a href="http://www.nthistory.com/items/browse?tags=gratwick">More items tagged "Gratwick" ></a> Postcard A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Canal and Lumber Yards, Gratwick, postcard (c1900).jpg Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1900-01 Description An account of the resource Appears to be looking southeast through the Gratwick lumber yeards, from roughly present-day Gratwick Park, with Tonawanda Iron and Steel looming on left, and Tonawanda Island on the right and beyond. gratwick lumber https://nthistory.com/files/original/b9ef6149b46771618476c6f7a5a4ded7.jpg 66aa2e3054aefb2f6a617142a227483f Map A diagram of a geographical area's major arteries of transportation, buildings, land owners and terrain. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource North Tonawanda, northwestern, hi-res, map (1908).jpg Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1908 gratwick ironton https://nthistory.com/files/original/f91f00cbd4124ac6a94fbddd4a4ffa45.jpg 51f44940a17e707cd3d9eb3cfbce7e9a Object Photos or illustrations of artifacts of an entity. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Gratwick Hose Company 6, matchbook outside (c1910).jpg Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1910 civic firefighter gratwick matchbook https://nthistory.com/files/original/ed4a8c52ffe8c4d866407d0e21a2b3a6.jpg ccb0498b5af7c972b96b04267eee2d80 Object Photos or illustrations of artifacts of an entity. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Gratwick Hose Company 6, matchbook inside (c1910).jpg Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1910 civic firefighter gratwick matchbook