The Log Cabin (Hotel), White Star Hotel owned by Capt. James Ennis, article (Ton News, 1897-10-08).pdf

Wonderfully descriptive article relates a chance encounter by two wheeling dandies with Capt. James Ennis and his "Log Cabin," "a famous resort on the River Road" located "at the foot of trolley trestle."

Resembling a picturesque tavern from a "Western mining camp," the cabin was said to be 100 years old. 

The proprietor is "a genial, hearty, whole-souled man, still rugged and sound—a rough diamond, all the better, perhaps, for not being too highly polished, with a good deal of originality and humor."

"His son, Edgar, an expert mixer of drinks, stood behind the bar."

Many "wheelmen" have been stopping at the new attraction, "finding it an enjoyable daily trip from Buffalo, Tonawanda or Niagara Falls. The fishing is fine and the boating is excellent, while there isn't a better beach along the entire shore."

"Mr. Ennis introduced us to his famous horse Dan and his little red wagon, and told us how Col. Payne—one of Tonawanda's most prominent citizens—had recently stopped at his house and explained that he had dined beneath its log roof 65 years ago, when the early history of Erie County was being made."

He plans to build a proper hotel on the site, and keep the log cabin around as a "curiosity."

Capt. Ennis has owned White Star Hotel it for the "past 15 years," the aritcle claims, though an 1890 Buffalo Courier article says Ennis bought the establishment in 1890, having been the lessee before that.

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The eminently affable Rick Ostrizinki posted in 2025 on "The Real Old Falls Street People" Facebook group:

"In 1817 Stephen Jacobs, a Revolutionary War veteran who had fought in the Battle of Bunker Hill, purchased 196 acres of land here along the old Military Road. Jacobs cleared a small area of forest and built his family a log cabin home amidst the rugged wilderness. The cabin remained a family residence for 75 years. In 1892 the Riverside Land Company purchased the cabin with hopes of developing the surrounding area into a new suburb lying between the industrial cities of Niagara Falls and North Tonawanda. A hotel was soon annexed onto the old log cabin. The natural beauty of the area made it a popular destination for travelers for many years. However its location just outside the city limits gave rise to a raft of raucous goings-on- cock fighting, women wrestlers, liquor sales on the Sabbath and other assorted clandestine pleasures. The ultimate demise of all this decadence was delivered by fire in 1934."

"In 1896 William Voetsch, owner of the Edgewater Amusement Park located directly across the river on Grand Island, shrewdly acquired riverfront property across the road from the Log Cabin Hotel. He constructed a dock from which he could ferry his amusement park customers and a hotel to serve as a local restaurant and entertainment venue. Strategically located along the main route between Buffalo and Niagara Falls, easily accessible by water, rail and road, Voetsch's new facilities, featuring the Edgewater Landing Hotel, achieved immediate and sustained success."