History of Tonawanda Island - Douglas P. Taylor.doc

BY DOUGLAS P. TAYLOR

The Beginnings:

Tonawanda Island is an 85-acre island located in the East Branch of the Niagara River off the North Tonawanda shoreline. There is little recorded history about the island prior to the arrival of the French explorer LaSalle, who explored the upper Niagara River in 1669.

1. Original Inhabitants

The original Native American inhabitants were the Neuter Indians, also known as the Attawandaron, who left two large mounds—roughly 20 ft high and 40 ft wide on Tonawanda Island. One mound was located on the south end of the island, and one on the north end.

The Neuters were predominantly arms traders, selling flint arrowheads, hatchets, knives, and related goods to both the Canadian Hurons and the Iroquois on the U.S. side, along with various fur trade goods. There was also a Neuter mound on Grand Island across from Tonawanda Island.

The mounds on Tonawanda Island were excavated by settlers in the period 1820‐1840, and no longer exist. Supposedly they contained many flint shards and some human bones.

The Neuter's habit of trading with both the Iroquois and their enemy, the Hurons, angered the Iroquois. Historic Indian records state that the Neuters were “assimilated” by the Iroquois by 1651, which probably means the Neuters were massacred, given the times.

The excavation of the Neuter mounds presents us with the first of the two great mysteries about Tonawanda Island. This first mystery is that of the Giant Skulls.

Research by local historian and author Mason Winfield for his books about paranormal activity in Western New York turned up a story about two large and bizarre skulls found in one of the Neuter mounds on the island. Winfield relates that the skulls were not only larger than normal for a human but also had a “prominent protruding lower jaw and a canine‐like forehead.” No one seems to know what became of these skulls…

2. Early European Influence

In the early 1700s, the French explorer Joncaire apparently purchased Tonawanda Island from the Indians. But Joncaire’s claim was extinguished during the French and Indian War, 1754‐1763, which was won by the British. Joncaire’s heirs tried to press their land claims, but the British had claimed the island as territory captured during the war and weren’t going to give it back.

3. American Revolution

One would think that the American Revolution of 1775‐1783 would have settled once and for all the ownership of Tonawanda Island, but that was not the case—because another war occurred…

4. War of 1812

The War of 1812 with the British again saw all of Western New York up for grabs, and when the war ended, negotiations took many years to again place Tonawanda Island in the hands of New York. In 1822, New York’s Surveyor General, Simon DeWitt, offered Tonawanda Island for sale and the island was purchased in an auction in 1825 by one Samuel Leggett of New York City, for $1,400, with a down payment of $175 for the Island. Leggett also purchased a portion of Grand Island at the same time.

Sam Leggett was a land speculator— and we would probably call him a real estate developer today. He was from New York City, where he was considered extremely wealthy. He was President of the first natural gas company founded in New York City—and his former company is now called Consolidated‐Edison. It was no coincidence that his purchase of the island in June of 1825 was followed by the opening of the Erie Canal in October of that year, essentially making the Tonawandas into a gateway city with access to vast timberlands of White Oak located across the river on Grand Island.

Leggett had made an initial down payment of $175 for Tonawanda Island, with installment payments to be made afterwards for a total purchase price of $1,400. But by 1833, Mr. Leggett had made no additional payments, and sold both Tonawanda Island and much of Grand Island to Stephen White of the East Boston Timber Company of Massachusetts.

Mr. White moved swiftly to reap profits from standing timber on Grand Island. He built a Lumber Mill, in a so-called company town that he named Whitehaven, followed by a shipyard, both sited near where the former Holiday Inn hotel is located on East River Road on Grand Island.

On Tonawanda Island, he built a large, ornate mansion for himself—called Beechwater—on the north end of the island. Mr. White had political connections— In 1836, Mr. White’s daughter married Daniel Webster, famed US Senator and orator in a ceremony at the Beechwater mansion. Today, Webster Street in North Tonawanda bears his name.

Mr. White was known for his lavish parties whenever the Whitehaven shipyard would launch a new vessel. He would bring guests in from what were then the Cities of Buffalo and Black Rock so they could watch the ship being launched—then retire to the Beechwater mansion for dinner and drinks.

The launch ways for the shipyard at Whitehaven can still be seen today—when the water in the river is low and winds are calm, just downstream a bit from the present-day hotel.

5. Decline and Change

By 1840, the timberlands on Grand Island were clearcut, and Mr. White’s East Boston Timber Company was unable to pay back the original investors. The company went bankrupt and Mr. White sold Tonawanda Island, along with his mansion, to one of his business managers, Jedediah Lathrop.

This was not a clean sale since in the years he had lived here; White had married a local woman, Mary White, and the sale to Lathrop had a covenant that the sale of the island was contingent on payment of a $25,000 dowry, the equivalent of more than $600,000 today, to her. Mr. Lathrop could not pay the dowry, or his taxes, and the State of New York then seized the Island. Eventually, after several very contentious lawsuits, Mary White ended up owning the island for the remainder of her life.

In 1866 Mary White’s estate sold the island to William Wilkeson of Buffalo, who renamed the Island and the former White mansion as Wilkenson’s Island and Wilkenson’s mansion. Mr. Wilkenson eventually sold the island to Smith and Fassett Lumber in 1882, who eventually sub‐divided the island.

6. Industrial Development and Transition

Beginning in the 1880s, North Tonawanda transitioned its many lumber businesses from rough cutting of timber to making finished lumber products for building and home construction. Numerous lumber companies purchased sections of land on the island and set up their lumber mills and storage yards.

• Northern Lumber
• R.T. Jones Lumber
• Smith, Fassett & Company
• Doebler Planing Mill
• Twin City Lumber Company
• White, Frost, & White Lumber
• Island Box Company
• Silverthorne & Company Lumber
• J.A. McBurney Lumber Company

The North Tonawanda Water Works opened on the Island in 1886, and rail service was added to the island for the benefit of the lumber mills, featuring a railway “swing” bridge.

7. Twentieth Century: Wars and Industrial Shifts

As the lumber mills died out, new industries emerged. The Hill‐Madden Boat Works operated next to the railway bridge from roughly 1929‐1932, producing high‐speed boats for the U.S. Coast Guard during Prohibition. The Bison Shipbuilding Company was founded in 1941, building amphibious invasion craft for WWII.

Post-war, the International Paper Company became a major employer but was notorious for pollution until it closed in 1976. The site was later transformed into a marina by Smith Boys Marine.

Another longstanding business, International Fiber, founded in 1924, is now part of the J. Rettenmaier group, known for food additives derived from wood and other materials.

8. Modern Developments

Taylor Devices, started by my father, Paul Taylor, has grown to be a major player in the manufacturing of shock absorbers for buildings, bridges, and spacecraft. Today, the island hosts diverse businesses including the Tonawanda Island Yacht Club and the Shores Restaurant.

9. Mysterious Events and Conclusion

The old railway swing bridge, a relic of the island’s industrial past, mysteriously swung to an open position one night in the 1990s, never to close again, raising suspicions of paranormal activity. Today, despite some ongoing challenges, Tonawanda Island continues to be a vibrant part of the local community.