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MPIRES مواد خام بروالنصابى
Niagara
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY
3 1833 06843 1193
GC 974.701 N51AI
Fury Faster Hann at 1965 From Client Charlotte
OUTPOST OF EMPIRES
A SHORT HISTORY OF NIAGARA COUNTY by
JOHN AIKEN JOHN WILHELMS ERIC BRUNGER RICHARD AIKEN
ROBERT WILHELMS
maps by THOMAS BRUNGER
Reading Specialist GORDON EDDY
ORIGINAL SKETCHES by NORMAN F. TRUESDALE
Copyright by FRANK E. RICHARDS, PHOENIX, N. Y. 1961
Dedicated to :
KENT WISBAUM
GEOFFREY BRUNGER
STEVE AIVES
FLORENCE AIKEN
Acknowledgements
It is particularly fitting in a work on local history, where the secondary sources are scarce and often in error, to acknowledge those organizations and individuals who were of service. Though it is not possible to mention each one separately, some individuals gave so greatly of their time and knowledge, that the authors would like to express their appreciation.
The greatest assistance to the authors was given by Clarence O. Lewis, Niagara County Historian. A student of his county's history for half a century, Mr. Lewis read the manuscript in its entirety and made many valuable suggestions. In addition, he proved to be a most useful source of primary materials. Without his help this book would have been much less accurate and complete. Julia Hull Winner, Deputy County Historian of Niagara, aided the authors, particularly concerning developments in Royalton for which town she is historian.
Others who read the manuscript in whole or in part included Professor Houston Robison of the Social Studies Department and Professor Irving Tesmer of the Science Department, both at State University of New York, College of Education, Buffalo and Minnie Jack of the East High School, Kenmore. Dr. Virginia Cummings and Dr. Marion White of the Humboldt Museum of Science in Buf-
falo were especially helpful on the earlier chapters dealing with the Indians. Richard McCarthy of Lockport, whose work in arche- ology in Western New York is well known, also read these chapters.
City of Niagara Falls Historian, Marjorie Williams also helped in the providing of source material and helpful suggestions. Alice Pickup and Lester Smith of the Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society were especially helpful in furnishing source materials. In the section on agriculture, L. A. Dickerson, county farm agent for Niagara, gave the authors much information from his own work as well as leads for further material. The authors also benefited from the research done by Louis Mazzei, Alphonso Gavin, Margaret Brett, and Paul Brucato.
Finally Janet Gilbert, Supervisor of Social Studies, Niagara Falls, both stimulated and encouraged the authors during the two years of research and writing.
In addition to the organizations mentioned above, the authors would like to express their appreciation to the libraries and Cham- bers of Commerce in the cities and towns of the county for their assistance. The authors assume complete responsibility for any errors that may appear in the book.
The Contents
Introduction
Meet the Outpost of Empires page 2
Part I The Iroquois Nation wins control of Western New York
1. Indians make Niagara country their home page 10 2. The Iroquois defeat their enemies page 21 Part II The flags of three nations fly over Niagara County 3. The Niagara region becomes an outpost of France p 28 4. Britain loses the region to the United States page 37
Part III Americans build up Niagara County
5. Early American settlement begins page 46
6. War strikes the Niagara Frontier page 53
7. Settlements také root along lake, river, and creek p 60
8. Settlements spring up along canal and escarpment p 70 spective to national history. It has been said that national history
Part IV Niagara County grows with state and nation
9. A frontier of America grows strong page 80
10. Niagara County reflects national growth page 91
11. The county and the nation face problems together page 100
Part V Farming and industry make Niagara strong 12. Agriculture helps build a strong county
13. Invention and skill provide power to start new in- dustry
14. Industrial Niagara gains strength
15. Man finds new ways to increase Niagara's power output
Part VI Niagara excites man's imagination 16. Man meets the challenge Bibliography Index
List of Maps and Charts
Land Heights Map of Niagara County
The Ice Retreats
Expanding Iroquois Empire Historic Niagara
page 26
page 31
Transportation Map of Niagara County
page 63
page 109
page 119
page 136
page 137
Preface
Our main objective in Outpost of Empires was to produce a short, readable, and clearly organized history of the Niagara region. A history that would be an accurate portrayal of events as they happened and individuals as they worked, played, fought, and died. We have made no attempt to create the past in a golden light. We have also tried to produce a history that would recall the war- cry of the Iroquois or a lone pioneer felling trees in the forest, or perhaps horses straining on the Erie Canal tow-path or the quake and roar of blasting on the Niagara power site.
Another objective was to place regional history in proper per- is but a generalization of regional and local history. If so, then regional history has full meaning only when seen in relation to national history. Wherever possible we have been guided by this idea and tied local and national history together. We also attempted to fill the gap of the "forgotten period" of American history, the page 112 period between 1865 and 1900. We have devoted several chapters to this period, most of the material appearing in book form for the page 120 first time.
Although John Aiken was the major contributor, the present page 139 work is the result of much co-operation among the authors. Parts of the manuscript have changed hands many times. With some chap- page 144 ters it is difficult to say they represent the work of one writer, since page 151 these chapters were written and rewritten by different men. Thus the authors accept collective responsibility for the complete work. J.A., J.W., E.B., R.A.
Frontispiece
page 3
page 13
Explorations in Niagara Region
Farm Products of Niagara County Niagara Falls Power Waterways Industrial Products of Niagara County New York State Power Project
page 128
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Introduction:
MEET THE OUTPOST OF EMPIRES
1
Meet the Outpost of Empires
Nature forms Niagara County
On a map of New York place your finger on the Falls of Niagara and you are pointing to the heart of the Niagara area. All the land within sixty miles of the waterfalls is the Niagara region. However, this story is about that part which is now the north- western corner of New York State, called Niagara County.
For more than two hundred years this small area of land, along the Niagara River, was one of the most important areas in North America. Its location on a natural waterway into the heart of North America made it an outpost of empires. First it was an out- post of the Iroquois. Then the French made it an outpost of their fur trading empire. After the French it became an outpost of the British. Finally it came into the hands of Americans to become an outpost of New York, the Empire State.
Any story of this "Outpost of Empires" naturally ought to begin with the land itself. So this chapter is about the land-how its hills and plains and waterways were formed, what plants and animals lived here, what land and water areas the first French explorer saw, and finally how resources drew a parade of people into Niagara County-Indians, priests, fur traders, pioneers, farmers, and industrial men.
What was it like in the beginning?
An ancient ocean covered the land Over five hundred million years ago a vast warm ocean rolled over Niagara County and much of North America. Winds sweep- ing across the vastness pushed white-capped waves before them. Long shafts of sunlight pierced the surface, warming the shallow ocean. In the warm depths lay Niagara County and much of New York, an ocean bottom of underwater hills, plains, and valleys.
The rugged bottom swarmed with plant and animal life. Coral and strange looking clams and other shellfish littered the bottom, and a tangled mass of eerie plants swayed gently with the shifting tides and currents. Around coral reefs brightly colored fish-like creatures hunted, fought, and died.
And in the shadowy depths, sea monsters tore at one another or cruised about hunting other fish. These giant fish glided through the water above Niagara County for many years. When they died, their bodies drifted down and settled on the bottom for scientists to unearth millions of years later.
A strange land arose from the water
Countless centuries passed. The earth's crust heaved and folded. And Niagara country arose from the ocean depths. Hills and high coral reefs jutted from the surging ocean and giant waves crashed upon the shore. As centuries slipped by, the ocean continued to lower. More land emerged from the water. What is now Lake Ontario was a valley with rivers flowing through it. The coral reefs formed part of the escarpment stretching from Lewiston to Rochester, New York, and the land wore a blanket of trees and grass.
During this time the climate was often warmer than it is today. Strange animals roamed the land. Herds of tiny horses, odd-look- ing bisons, and deer grazed on grassy plains and valleys. One strange dweller was the great, shaggy, elephant-like mastodon. This huge brown beast wandered about eating grass and other plants growing in the Niagara region. Many died when the area turned into a frozen wasteland. Only bones remind us that they once made the Niagara region their home.
How did the Ice Age affect Niagara?
A million years ago the climate changed. Four times the Niagara became a frozen, lifeless land Snow fell more often and winters turned colder and lasted longer. At last the sun disappeared behind flake-filled skies. For centuries snow piled up and packed down into ice. Oceans dropped two hundred to six hundred feet as freezing temperatures turned the water to ice.
Then a great glacier, a sheet of ice over a mile thick, crept out of the north. Slowly it crawled southward, snapping giant trees like twigs; pushing, grinding, crushing everything in its way. Life unable to move south died. The glacier deepened many valleys and rounded off mountain tops. In time the great ice sheet covered much of the northern United States; including most of New York. The glacier blanketed Niagara area for many thousands of years. There was no sound here then except the wind and the grinding of ice. Niagara County was a white world of ice, snow, and wind. The Ice Age had arrived.
Thousands of years passed before the bright sun sparkled on the glacier and warm southern breezes blew across its icy heights. The ice cap melted and retreated slowly northward, leaving heaps of stones and dirt the ice had carried south. Centuries later it re- turned. Four times ice sheets covered Niagara, and four times they vanished under the sun's rays and warm winds. And four times animals moved south and then returned as the glacier melted.
2
THE ICE RETREATS
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LAKE IROQUOIS
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LAKE ERIE
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LEGEND
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GLACIAL LAKES AND ORAINAGEWAYS
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ATLANTIC OCEAN
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JERSEY
LAKE ALBANY
The glacier helped form present water and land areas Some twelve to twenty-five thousand years ago the last glacier began its slow move- ment north. For a time it blocked the St. Lawrence River with a mile high ice dam. Water from the melting glacier gradually flooded the Niagara region and most of New York bordering Lake Ontario. Water filled the Ontario Basin and crept southward to the Niagara escarpment. In time it rose above the escarpment and spilled onto the plain to the south. Niagara was again under water.
But bright sunny days drove the glacier further north, clearing the St. Lawrence and Mohawk valleys. Then glacial water flooding the Niagara region drained through these valleys into the Atlantic Ocean. As flood water lowered, the long backbone of the escarp- ment arose from the depths. A lake called glacial Lake Tonawanda covered much of the land above the escarpment. Water from Lake Tonawanda, and other lakes further west, drained through the Niagara region and poured over the escarpment, forming rivers and creeks.
The receding glacial flood water continued to slip down the lofty escarpment until it washed against its base. From the escarpment base the water stretched far north into Canada. This huge body of water was called Lake Iroquois and, like other glacial waters, it also lowered. Gradually it shrank in size to form Lake Ontario.
Ontario Lake Plain Traveling Route 104 connecting Lewiston and Rochester and looking north, you can see the sloping shore of old Lake Iroquois. The old lake bottom be- tween the escarpment and Lake Ontario is now the Ontario Lake Plain. As Lake Iroquois lowered, the Niagara River tumbled over the escarpment, forming several small waterfalls. After a time these small waterfalls became one, Niagara Falls. Beginning at Lewiston, the falls wore away the rock seven miles south to their present site approximately fifteen thousand years ago.
When the Niagara area warmed the last time, plants and trees like those of today sprouted and reached toward the sun. Later thick forests with winding creeks and dense swamps sprawled across the land. Most animals that had gone south returned to wander in forests and swamps. But mastodons and other such animals had vanished forever.
Finally, according to scientists, bronze-skinned hunters whose ancestors had migrated from Asia, trod the wooded hills and plains of the Niagara area. They hunted, and reared families, and grew old, never dreaming that one day white-skinned people would de- stroy their way of life.
And so, when one of the first French explorers came in 1615, the main features of the Niagara area had been formed-escarpment, Lake Ontario, Niagara River, the Ontario Lake Plain, and Niagara Gorge and Falls. The French found Niagara wrapped in a blanket of forest and the Neuter Indians masters of the area.
It now remains for us to take a closer look at the land, one of the first French explorers, Stephen (Étienne) Brulé, might have seen if he paddled through the Niagara area in 1615. No one knows for certain which route Brulé took. But one way he might have gone is the Niagara River-Lake Erie route. This seems likely be- cause most travel was by water; and his Huron guides would stay clear of country further east, the home of their bitter enemies, the Senecas. Besides, Brulé was an explorer and had been since he was sent to live with the Hurons at the age of sixteen. So it is easy to imagine his youthful curiosity pulling him along the Niagara River toward the great waterfalls to the south.
The first white man arrives
Stephen Brulé came If the young Stephen Brulé paddled into the Niagara region in 1615, he was one of the first white men to see it. From a small French outpost on Lake Nipissing, Canada, Brulé and a small party of Hurons set out to visit Indians living south of the Iroquois. They paddled and por- taged frail bark canoes south from Lake Nipissing to Lake Ontario. Hugging Lake Ontario's western shore and camping ashore nights, they made their way eastward toward Niagara.
One evening in mid-September, they camped on the lake shore a few miles west of the Niagara River. Squatting around the camp- fire, Brulé heard the sound of falling water carried on the wind. He listened carefully as the Indians talked of the great waterfall and lake to the south. His deeply-tanned face showed excitement as Hurons whispered about the spirit living in the thundering waters. He wondered about the distant roar the night wind carried as he dropped off to sleep.
4
.
What features of Niagara County did Stephen Brulé probably see on his trip?
The lower Niagara River flowed north through the Ontario Plain
Early next morning Brulé and his party broke camp and glided out onto Lake On- tario. Their
canoes pointed toward Niagara County and the rising sun. The morning sun flashing on the calm water forced the paddlers to squint. To the north, water and sky melted together on the horizon. Southward, the shore was a solid wall of trees except for a few small natural clearings. Streaks of early morning mist resting on the water hid part of the steep banks. Only the steady dipping of paddles, and the lapping of water against the canoe sides broke the early morning stillness.
Shortly they arrived at the mouth of the Niagara River. Lake and river sweeping together rocked the frail canoes as they crossed the sandbar and entered the wide river mouth, heading south. On their left the future site of Fort Niagara jutted out into the lake. Even in 1615 few trees stood on the site. The count- less campfires of Seneca and other Indian traders and fishermen had taken most of them for wood.
Dense forests abounded with animals The lean and hard canoers paddled by the clearing and continued up river. Dark forests of oak and hickory towered above them on both sides of the steep red banks. And the sharp, damp smell of forest and river filled the air. The dense forests stretched for miles on both sides of the river. The whole Ontario Lake Plain was thick shadowy forest; only here and there was it broken by small clearings and swamps. With powerful strokes the party paddled up the Niagara River. About noon they pulled onto a narrow beach on the west side of the river. After resting a time, they pushed into the river and continued southward again.
Pushing up the river, the party startled flocks of ducks and geese into hurried flight. A few times the canoers slipped through weed beds where feeding fish broke the surface after insects. Brulé and the Hurons watched deer, bear, mink, and other ani- mals come down to the river. Sometimes the animals disappeared into the dark woods at the sight of men and canoes; sometimes they watched curiously as the men paddled by. Fur bearing ani- mals were important. The fur trade later brought the French to the Niagara region. And it was the fur trade that caused over two hundred years of conflict here.
Watching the steep red banks slide by, Brulé and the Hurons paddled steadily up river. From time to time they placed their paddles across the canoes and rested. After a few minutes they swung into a steady rhythm that covered miles rapidly.
The river eroded the escarpment Sometime after the noon stop, they saw the distant blue-green cliffs of the escarp- ment. These woody cliffs towered above the tall trees lining the river banks. As they neared the escarpment, the banks seemed to close in on them. Forested cliffs reared sharply ahead on both sides of the river. The Niagara River, cutting through the escarpment by countless years of erosion, formed a huge "V." Several times as they battled the swift current near the escarpment, Brulé caught a flash of bronze skin in the underbrush crowning the river bank.
A Neuter village lay at the base of the escarpment Finally they reached the wooded escarp- ment. There was a break in the high red bank on the left and a well beaten foot path led to the water's edge. Several canoes lay upside down on the steep bank. Above the bank, in a clearing, was the stockaded Neuter village later called Onguiaahra, or Ongiara. The late afternoon sun cast long shadows over the village and thin columns of smoke trailed skyward from inside the stockade. Nothing moved, not even dogs. The village was silent.
5
Brulé saw no Indians but he knew his party had been under close watch for some time. For the first time he felt uneasy. Al- though Hurons were welcome in Neuter bark lodges, anything might happen. With a slight hand movement, Brulé motioned the other canoe toward shore. As they pulled toward the bank, Neuters cautiously left the stockade, with weapons ready. But the Hurons came in peace and the Neuters soon swarmed about the travelers, pushing and shoving and laughing.
The sight of Brulé delighted the Neuters, who probably had never seen a white man before. They crowded about him, pointing, and touching his skin and clothing. Wherever he walked Indians tagged along, and his every move brought sounds of pleasure from the admiring Neuters. Pleased with their wondrous guest they happily set about preparing a feast and a dance in his honor.
A portage route by- passed Niagara Falls
That evening, during the feasting, dancing and chanting, Brulé learned more about the rapids and great waterfalls up river. He studied maps drawn in the dust and noted the eight-mile trail, or portage, along which the Indians carried their canoes around the lower rapids and great waterfall. But with the Indians crowding him, he had to give up attempts to learn more about Neuter lands. Brulé got little sleep that night in the bark lodge. Curious Indians strolled in at all hours to see and touch the strange white man.
Next morning, before the sun had slanted into the lodges, Brulé and the Hurons were awake and making ready for the portage. With Neuter help they toiled up the escarpment with canoes and equipment. After friendly good-bys the small party started over the narrow forest trail, walled in by towering oak trees.
Later, this narrow trail became the most important road in the Niagara area. Vast wealth in furs moved over the portage and nations fought bloody battles to control it. But Brulé knew none of these things as he tramped over the narrow path loaded with equipment. Nor could he guess that thousands of other feet supporting heavy loads would also tread the damp earth where his moccasined feet pressed. Brush beside the trail pulled at him as he pushed by it. Morning dew on the bushes soon drenched him from foot to waist. Hour after hour, mile after mile, they moved single file over the narrow portage.
The eight mile portage from the Neuter village to the upper Niagara River took most of that September day. Most of the way the portage followed the rim of the deep gorge dug by the Niagara
River. Nearly three hundred feet below they heard the dull roar of the lower rapids which the Neuters had mentioned. But soon the roaring waterfalls ahead drowned out all other sound. As they neared the end of the portage, Brulé noted a change in his Huron guides. They glanced uneasily into the dark forest and at each other. They were on sacred ground and feared their presence might anger the spirit of the thundering waters.
Finally the narrow woodland path widened into a small clear- ing beside the river. Charred remains of old campfires dotted the clearing and the damp smell of river and forest hung heavily on the air. Standing on the river bank, Brulé looked out onto a broad, swift river but failed to see the falls. Leaving the Hurons to make camp, he followed a small overgrown path winding off to the right in the direction of the waterfalls. Struggling through tangled underbrush he approached the gorge. The forest ended suddenly and he found himself peering into the deep chasm. Far below, the falls crashed into the river, churning it into foam that floated in patches and streaks on the river.
Awestruck, Brulé stood gazing at the tumbling water until darkness crept over the falls and gorge. Then he stumbled back to camp and sat watching the fire glow in the darkness as he ate Later he crawled into his blanket and the roar of the falls dimmed to a murmur as he dropped off to sleep.
Upper Niagara River country was wild and undeveloped Before sun-up next morning Brulé and his guides pushed the canoes from shore and paddled out onto the upper Niagara River. A few hundred yards from shore they stopped and looked back on the churning rapids above the falls. Several islands perched on the brink of the falls. Goat Island, the largest, divided the rapids into two waterfalls. And off the south shore of Goat Island, the Three.Sister Islands reached out into the rapids above the horseshoe-shaped fall. On Goat Island's north side, Green Island lay in the rapids above the American Fall.
The current carried the canoes a few yards down-river toward the falls. They dug their paddles into the river and moved east- ward. The roar of the falls lessened as they paddled steadily south- east on the wide, quiet river. Keeping to the left bank, they glided by Grass Island, Gill Creek, and Cayuga Island. Brulé studied the shore and made mental notes of the islands, creeks, and animal life
A few miles above the falls, Grand Island divides the Niagara River. Keeping to the east branch, they paddled on the curving
6
river southward, past Tonawanda Creek emerging from a great swamp. Past the south end of Grand Island where the two branches of the river join again, they moved southward until they reached the wide expanse of Lake Erie.
If Brulé took the Niagara River-Lake Erie route, when he and his Huron guides reached Lake Erie they passed out of the Niagara region and skirted southern New York to escape the Senecas. They probably portaged from creek to creek eastward. At last Brulé reached the Susquehanna Indians living south of the Iroquois.
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