USA > New York > Gazetteer of the State of New York: embracing a comprehensive view of the geography, geology, and general history of the State, and a complete history and description of every county, city, town, village, and locality, Part 2 > Part 22
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8 This name was given from the semicircular shape of the edge of the cliff over which the water flowed. The shape now ( nearly that of a right angle.
4 Numerous improvements have been made to afford facili- ties to visitors. A staircase constructed at the N. extremity of the American Fall, some years since, was burnt and re- built in 1858; another, upon Goat Island, was built in 1829, and called the Biddle Staircase; and another near Table Rock, upon the Canada shore, by which visitors can descend to the bottom of the precipice. A row boat ferry crosses the river from the foot of the American Staircase, and a carriage road extends up the bank on the Canadian side. A little w. of Goat Island, in the midst of the rapids near the edge of the precipice, a stone tower 45 ft. high was constructed, iu 1833, to afford a more ex- tensive view of the falls. The " Maid of the Mist," a small steamer, makes trips upon the river frou her dock, a little above Suspension Bridge, into the foam and mist just below the Cann- dian Fall. The awful majesty of this cataract is seen to great advantage in the winter season, when the spray settling upon all objects in the vicinity covers them with n glittering crust of ice. The rocks below become loaded with immense masses; and in extremely cold winters the river below gets blocked in so as to form a natural bridge, over which people venture to cross to the Canada shore and even up to the island. In the winter of 1841-42 the river was passable for several months. and a small honse was built near the center for the sale of refresh- ments. The ice was estimated to be 100 ft. thick. A year seldom passes withont several fatal nccidents happening at these falls, and an enumeration of those who have been drawn into the rapids. or who have slipped from the precipice and been mangled upon the rocks below, would form & long and mournful cata- logue. In 1827 the Michigan, a condeumed schooner, was sent over the falls, with several animals on board, in the presence of 15,000 spectators. She mostly went to pieces in the rapids. In 1829 the schooner Superior, aud in 1841 the ship Detroit, were towed into the rapids, but the former lodged several days, and the latter was permanently grounded upon the rocks in the rapids.
6 This swamp could be drained if the State dam at the month of Tonawanda Creek was removed; and this only is needed to convert the tract into the most productive region in the co. As the land is cleared, It becomes sufficiently dry for agricultural purposes. The muck and marl which abound in the swamp, and the limestone and gypsum which undertie it, are all sources of great agricultural wealth.
451
NIAGARA COUNTY.
Four Mile, Six Mile, Twelve Mile, and Eighteen Mile Creeks,-named from their respective dis- tances from the mouth of Niagara River,-Fish and Golden IIill Creeks, all emptying into Lake Ontario; Mud Creek and East Branch, tributaries of Tonawanda Creek, and Cayuga and Gill Creeks, tributaries of Niagara River. The streams that flow N. have all worn deep ravines in the drift deposits; and they are frequently interrupted by falls, furnishing abundance of water-power.
A strip of land extending from the summit of the mountain ridge about 2 mi. s. is covered with a sandy loam, and the remainder of the upper terracc is clayey, largely intermixcd with muck along the s. border. The soil between the mountain and lake ridges is a clayey loam, and along the lake ridge and N. of it it is a sandy and gravelly loam. The people are principally engaged in grain raising, for which the co. is most admirably adapted; barley, oats, corn, and potatoes are the staple agricultural products.1 The manufacture of flour and other articles is largely carried on at Lockport, and the manufacturing interests at Niagara Falls are on the increase. The vast water power that can be made available at the falls will continually attract the attention of practical men, until eventually an immense manufacturing interest will be built up.
The co. seat is located at the village of Lockport.2 The courthouse is a stone building erected upon a fine lot in the w. part of the village." The jail, situated upon the same lot, is a well con- structed stone building, but destitute of means of ventilation. The average number of inmates is 27. The co. clerk's office is a stone fireproof building contiguous to the courthouse." The poor- house is located upon a farm of 130 acres 3 mi. N. w. of the courthouse. The average number of inmates is 95, supported at a weekly cost of 50 cts. each. The farm yields a revenue of $1000. A teacher is constantly employed to teach the children and to exercise a constant supervision over them. The insane are properly provided for, and are uniformly treated kindly.5
The Erie Canal enters the co. near the N. line of Royalton, and extends s. w. to Lockport, thence nearly due s. to Tonawanda Creek, and thence along that creek to its mouth. The heaviest and most extensive work upon the canal is at Lockport, where the passage of the mountain ridge is effected. A series of combined double locks, 5 in number, overcomes an elevation of 56 ft., and from the summit a deep cut through the solid limestone extends several miles westward.6 The Rochester, Lockport, & Niagara Falls Division of the N. Y. Central R. R. extends through Royal- ton, Lockport, Cambria, and Niagara, and a corner of Lewiston and Wheatfield, terminating at Suspension Bridge upon Niagara River. The Buffalo & Lockport Branch R. R. extends s. w. from Lockport through Cambria, Pendleton, and Wheatfield. The Buffalo & Niagara Falls R. R. extends along Niagara River throughi Niagara and Wheatfield, and a N. branch is extended to Lewiston. The Canandaigua & Niagara Falls Branch R. R. unites with the B. & N. F. R. R. at Tonawanda.7
Three daily and five weekly newspapers are published in the co.8
1 Wheat formed the great staple of the co. until about 1850, | The Lockport Balance. It was successively published by Isaac when the miidge commenced its ravages.
2 When the co. was first erected, the co. seat was fixed at Buf- falo. The buildings were given up to Erie co. upon the erection of the latter county.
8 This building was erected in 1824. The first co. officers were, Augustus Porter, First Judge; Louis S. Le Coutenlx, Co. Clerk ; Asa Ransom, Sheriff; and Archibald S. Clarke, Surrogate. 4 Built in 1856, at a cost of $13,000.
5 The Senate Committee in 1856 concluded the report upon this institution as follows :- "The house is well kept, and by the result proves that, as a question of economy merely, it is less expensive to maintain a good poorhouse than it is a poor one."
6 The project of building a ship canal around Niagara Falls has from time to time excited much attention, and several surveys have been made, but thus far without result. The earliest in- corporation for this object was in 1798.
" In 1838 a horse car R. R. was built from Lewiston, 3 mi., to connect with the Lockport & Niagara Falls R. R .; but the track has been transferred to the Central R. R. Co. The Niagara & Lake Ontario R. R., extending from Niagara Falls to Youngstown, has been built, but it is not yet in operation.
8 The Niagara Democrat, the first paper published in the co., Was started at Lewiston in 1821 by Benjamin Furguson. In the following year it was removed to Lockport, and soon after changed to
The Lockport Observatory. In Ang. 1822, it passed into the hands of Orsamus Turner, and in 1828 it was united with the Niagara Sentinel and issued as
The Sentinel and Observatory. In 1828, Peter Besançon, jr., be- came the proprietor, and changed it to
The Lockport Journal. In 1829 it was purchased by Asa Story and changed to
The Lockport Balance. In 1834 it was united with The Gazette, under the name of
The Balance and Gazette. It was soon afterward changed again to
C. Colton and T. II. Ilyatt until 1837, when it was sold to Turner & Lyon and merged in The Niagara Democrat.
The Lewiston Sentinel was commenced at Lewiston in 1823 by James O. Daily. It soon after passed into the hands of Oliver Grace, who removed it to Lockport and issued it as
The Niagara Sentinel. In 1828 it was united with The Lockport Observatory.
The Gazette was started at Lockport in 1833 by P. Baker. In 1834 it was united with The Balance.
The Niagara Democrut was started at Lockport in 1835 by Turner & Lyon. In 1837 it was united with The Balance and issued as
The Niagara Democrat and Lockport Balance. The latter part of the title was soon dropped. In 1839 it passed into the hands of T. P. Scoville; and in 1846, into those of Turner & McCollum. It was continued by different publishers until 1858, when it was united with The Lockport Advertiser. The weekly edition is now issued as
The Niagara Democrat, by John Campbell.
The Lockport Daily Advertiser was commenced in Feb. 1854, by A. S. Prentiss. June 1, 1858, it was united with The Democrat as
The Lockport Dally Advertiser and Demo- crat, under which title it is still issued.
The Niagara Courier was started at Lockport, May 1, 1827, by M. Cadwallader. It was successively issued by Geo. Reese, T. C. Flagler, Crandall & Binghamu, C. L. Skeels, and S. S. Pomroy.
The Lockport Daily (burier was commenced by Pomroy & Fox iu 1847, and continued until 1859, when both the daily and weekly were united with The Journal; the daily as
The Journal and Courier, and the weekly by the name of
452
NIAGARA COUNTY.
This co. was a portion of the domain of the Seneca Nation, though none of its principal villages were located within its limits. The first European visitant of whom there is any record was La Salle, a French adventurer, who, accompanied by Tonti and Father IIenncpin, conducted an expe- dition up the lakes for the double purpose of traffic with the Indians and of extending the French influence among the native tribes. In the fall of 1678 he established a trading post on the present site of Fort Niagara, at the mouth of Niagara River, and soon after laid the keel of a small vessel of 60 tons, at the mouth of Cayuga Creek, above the falls. This vessel was launelied in the com- mencement of the following summer, and christened the Griffin; and on the 7th of Aug. the party set sail upon Lake Erie.1 The first work at Fort Niagara was a simple palisade; but in 1687 De Nonville, the French commander, constructed there a fort with four bastions. This was soon after besieged by the Senecas ; and, a fatal siekness having destroyed most of the garrison, it was soon after abandoned. Joncaire, another French adventurer, built a house on the present site of Lewis- ton in 1721; and about 4 years after another defensive work was ereeted on the old site of the palisade of La Salle. This fortress was afterward enlarged, and became one of the most important French posts w. of Montreal. In the summer of 1759, Gen. Prideaux, at the head of a large foree of regulars and provincial troops, was sent to reduce the place. The fort was besicged about the Ist of July; and on the 25th it was surrendercd to Sir Wm. Johnson, upon whom the command of the expedition had devolved upon the death of Gen. Prideaux.2
The fortress was repaired and garrisoned by the English; and during the Revolution it became the headquarters of the marauding parties of tories and Indians that desolated the frontier settle- ments along the Mohawk, Susquehanna, and Delaware." Fort Niagara continued in possession of the British until 1796." The portion of the Tuscarora Indians who were allies of the English during the Revolution removed to the neighborhood of Fort Niagara after the destructive campaign of Sulli- van, in 1779, to obtain means of preventing absolute starvation. The Senecas donated them a square mi. of land, and subsequently the Ilolland Land Co. 2 sq. mi. In 1804 they purchased an addi- tional traet of 4329 aeres, for $13,722. On the 19th of Dec. 1813, Fort Niagara, then in possession of an Amcriean garrison, was surprised and taken by the British; and it continued in their pos- session until the closc of the war. The villages at Lewiston and Niagara Falls were burnt about the same time. In 1826, Fort Niagara was the seene of Morgan's imprisonment previous to his final disappearance.5 The land in this co. was all ineluded in the Ilolland Purchase, except the smal! reservations of the Tonawanda and Tuscarora Indians, and a strip of a mile in width along Niagara River, reserved by the State for the purposes of a portage road around Niagara Falls. The first scttlements were commenced about the beginning of the present century, and the growth of the co., in common with the whole territory of the Holland Purchase, was rapid. The great impetus to growth, however, was given by the completion of the Erie Canal in 1825 and the subsequent construction of railroads. In 1837 the co. became the seat of great cxeitcment connected with the so-called Patriot War. Most of the Patriot forces that rendezvoused upon Navy Island-within British territory, and just above the rapids of the falls-were transported from Schlosser, upon the
The Intelligencer, both of which are now issued hy Richardson & Freeman.
Priestcraft Exposed was published from 1828 to 1830 at Lock- port by L. A. Spaulding.
The Lockport Journal was started in July, 1851, by M. C. Rich- ardson; and in 1852
The Lockport Daily Journal was commenced. and both editions were continued until 1859, when they were united with the daily and weekly Courier, as already noticed.
The Frontier Sentinel was published at Lockport in 1837, during the " Patriot War" excitement, by T. P. Scoville.
The Lockport Chronicle was started at Lockport April 9. 1859, hy S. S. Pomroy & Co.
The Lewiston Telegraph was started at Lewiston in 1836 by John A. Ilarrison & Co., and was continued about 3 years. The Niagara Falls Journal was published a short time in 1837 hy Francis & Ward.
The Niagara Chronicle was published at Niagara Falls in 1838 by J. Simpson.
The Niagara Cataract was started in 1846 at Niagara Falls by Stephens & Humphreys, and continued a short time.
The Iris was commenced at Niagara Falls in 1846 by George HI. Ilackstaff, and was continued until 1854.
The Niagara Times was published at Niagara Falls from Oct. 1855 to Oct. 1857, by W. E. Tunis.
The Niagara Falls Gazette was started May 17, 1854, by Pool & Sleeper, by whom it is still issued.
The Niagara City Herald was started at Suspension Bridge in Oct. 1855, by G. H. Hackstaff; and in the fol- lowing year it passed into the hands of N. T. Haekstaff, by whom it is now published.
I The vessel sailod through Lakes Erie and Huron to Green
Bay, where it cast anchor and remained some time. After being freighted with a rich cargo of furs, it started on its return voy- age; but from that time no tidings ever came of the vessel or crew. La Salle and Father Hennepin left the vessel on its up- ward voyage at Detroit, and afterward penetrated the western wilderness to the Mississippi River.
2 While Sir Wm. Johnson remained at this place lie inade a contract with Wm. Stedman to construct a road for a portage from Lewiston to Schlosser above the Falls. This road was finished in 1763; and on the 20th of June of that year the con- tractor started with 25 loaded wagons from Lewiston, under the convoy of 50 soldiers. As the party were passing a deep gulf upon the very edge of the cliff known as the Devil's Hole, they were assailed by a large force of Senecas who were lying in wait for them, and the whole party except one were driven off the precipice, which here has a perpendicular height of 180 ft. Wm. Stedman escaped by forcing his horse through the rank4 of the Indians; and one soldier- a drummer-was saved by his belt catching in the top of a tree below and so breaking the force of his fall.
8 The prisoners taken npon the war-paths were generally con- ducted to this place, where they were often obliged to submit to the terrible ordeal of the gauntlet. A premium was also here given for scalps, stimulating the Indians to murder. The tories who rendezvoused here were usually more inbuman than the Indians.
4 Col. Smith, who commanded this post at the time of its sur- render. was the commanding officer of the British at the battle of Lexington. As Ningara was one of the very last posts sur- rendered, Col. Smith may with propriety he said to have par- ticipated in both the opening and closing acts of the Americau Revolution.
6 See page 323.
453
NIAGARA COUNTY.
American shore; and great excitement prevailed in consequence. The steamer Caroline, engaged in furnishing re-inforcements and supplies to the insurgents, was eut from her moorings, on the night of Dee. 29, by a British foree, set on fire, and sent over the falls. This event was the oeea- sion of a long diplomatie controversy between the Governments of the United States and Great Britain, and at one time war seemed almost inevitable. Sinee that time no event has occurred to disturb the peaceful progress of improvement.
CAMBRIA-was formed from "Willink," (now Aurora, Erie eo.,) March 11, 1808. Ilart- land, Niagara, and Porter were taken off in 1812, Lewiston in 1818, and a part of Loekport in 1824. It is an interior town, w. of the center of the eo. The mountain ridge1 erosses through the eenter of the town and divides it into two nearly equal portions. In the N. and s. the surface is level or undulating. The lake ridge erosses the N. part of the town. The principal stream is Twelve Mile Creek. The soil consists of alternations of sandy and elayey loam. Pekin (p. v.) lies partly in Lewiston, but principally in this town. It contains 2 churches and about 60 dwellings. North Ridge and Cambria, in the N. part of the town, are p. offices. The first settlement was made in 1800, by Philip Beach, from Le Roy.2 There are 2 churches in town, Cong. and M. E.
HARTLAND3-was formed from Cambria, June 1, 1812. Royalton was taken off in 1817, Somerset in 1823, and a part of Newfane in 1824. It is the eentral town upon the E. border of the co. The surface is level or gently undulating, the greatest inequality being along the lake ridge, which erosses the s. part of the town. The principal streams are Eighteen Mile and Johnsons Creeks. The soil s. of the ridge is a elayey loam, and N. it is a sandy and gravelly loam. John- sons Creek, (p. v.,) located on the ereek of the same name where it erosses the lake ridge, eon- tains 1 church and has a population of 114. Hartland Corners, (Hartland p. o.,) on the ridge in the w. part of the town, contains about 18 dwellings. Middleport' is partly in this town. The first settlement was made in 1803, by John and David Morrison.5 The first ehureh (Bap.) was organized at Johnsons Creek in 1817. There are 5 eliurehes in town.6
LEWISTON'-was formed from Cambria, Feb. 27, 1818. It is the eentral town upon the w. border of the eo. The mountain ridge extends through the town, dividing it into two nearly equal portions. Along the base of this ridge the surface is broken or rolling, but elsewhere it is level. Gill and Six Mile Creeks, and several smaller streams, take their rise in this town, and Niagara River forms its w. boundary. The soil is a sandy loam. The Devil's Hole-a dark ehasm, 150 ft. deep, upon the high bank of the Niagara, in the extreme s. part of the town-was the seene of a sanguinary battle during the Old French War.8 Five mi. above Ft. Niagara, bordering upon the river, is a flat of several aeres, about 65 ft. lower than the surrounding country. It is ealled Five Mile Meadow: it was here that the British forees landed the night before the capture of Fort Niagara, in Dee. 1814.º Lewiston,10 (p. v.,) ineorp. April 17, 1822, was reserved by the State and patented by single lots. It is situated on Niagara River, at the base of the mountain ridge. It is the terminus of the Lewiston & N. F. R. R., and the head of navigation from Lake Ontario. It contains 4 eliurehes, and has a pop. of 1,014. The Lewistown Suspension Bridge aeross the Niagara River was ereeted in 1850 and '51.11 Dickersonville (p. o.) is a hamlet. South Pekin is a p. o. in the s. E. part. Pekin lies partly in this town. Fort Gray, a temporary forti- fieation erected during the War of 1812, occupied the verge of the mountain ridge just above the vil- lage of Lewiston. The Seminary of our Lady of Angels, a Catholic institution, is situated on
1 Upon the verge of this ridge, in the E. part of the town, are an ancient fortification and burial places, occupying about 6 acres. Rude iron implements, pieces of copper, fragments of earthen- ware, chiarred wood, and corncobs have been plowed up within the area. Nearly in the center, overlaid by sandstone slabs, was a deep pit filled with human bones, many of which ap- parently belonged to men of almost giant size .- Turner's Hist. Holland Purchase.
2 John Forsyth and Walter Neal settled in the town in 1804, and Chapman Hawley, Daniel Howell, Joseph Hewett, James Prentice, and Amariah Stoughton soon afterward. The first birth was that of Philip Beach, jr., in 1803; and the first deatlı, that of Nehemiah Street, a traveler, who was murdered in 1790. Philip Beach opened the first inn, in 1800, and Joshua Shep- pard the first store. in 1815. Joseph Hewett built the first saw- mill, in 1806, and Christian Howder the first gristmill, in 1815. The first school was taught by Mrs. Neal, in 1808.
8 Named from IIartlaud, Vt.
" See page 456.
" Zebulon Barnum, Jedediah Riggs, Isaac Southwell, and Dan'l
| Brown moved into town the same year, and Abel Barnum and Oliver Castle in 1805. 'The first death was that of Isaac Sonth. well. in 1806; the first inu was opened by Jephtha Duun, in 1809, and the first store, by Dan'I Van Horu, in 1816. The first school was tanghit by Nancy Judson, in the summer of 1813.
6 Bap .. Friends, M. E., Prot. M., and R. C.
i Named from Gov. Morgan Lewis, at the suggestion of Judge Silas Ilopkins. 8 See p. 452. 9 See p. 280.
10 An academy was established at this place in 1828. Besides participating in the general fund. it was endowed by the Legis- lature with the proceeds of the ferry license, which some years yielded $500 to $900. When the Lewiston Suspension Bridge was finished, the ferry was abandoned and the academy dis- continued.
11 This bridge was built by two joint stock companies,-one incorp. by the Legislature of N. York and the other by the Canadian l'arliament. The roadway is 849 ft. long, 20 ft. wide, and 60 ft. above the water. Cost of the structure, $58,000.
454
NIAGARA COUNTY.
the river bank in the s. w. part of the town.1 The site of the village of Lewiston was occupied by the French at different times previous to and during the Old French War; but the first permanent settlements were made about the year 1800.2 The first church is said to have been founded by Brant, at the Mohawk settlement, a little E. of Lewiston.3 There are now 8 churches in town.4
LOCKPORT-was taken from Cambria and Royalton, Feb. 2, 1824. It extends from the central part to the southern bounds of the co. The surface in the northern part of the town, through which the mountain ridge extends, is broken and hilly; in the central and southern parts it is level. Eighteen Mile and Mud Creeks are the principal streams. The soil is a clayey loam intermixed with marl, and in the N. it is stony. The Niagara limestone crops out along the mountain ridge, and extensive quarries have been opened in and near the village of Lockport.5 Underlying this is a stratum of hydraulic limestone, from which waterlime is made; and sand- stone belonging to the Medina formation is also quarried N. of the ridge.6 The manufactures of the town are extensive, and consist principally of flour, lumber, leather, and machinery. Lock- port,7 (p. v.,) the co. seat, was incorp. March 26, 1829. It is situated on the Erie Canal and the declivities of the mountain ridge. It is an important station on the Niagara Falls R. R., and is the terminus of the branch road to Buffalo. The water-power created by the canal locks at this place has given rise to numerous and extensive manufacturing establishments.8 The village contains 15 churches, a high school,9 3 newspaper offices, 3 banks of issue, and 1 savings' bank. Pop. 8,939. Wrights Corners, (p. o.,) in the N. part of the town, and Rapids, (p.o.,) in the s. part, are hamlets. Hickory Corners, in the w., is a p. o. The first settlement was made at Cold Spring, about 1 mi. E. of Lockport Village, by Charles Wilbur, in 1805.10 There are 21 churches in town.11 Ex-Gov. Washington Hunt is a resident of this town.
NEWFANE-was formed from Hartland, Somerset, and Wilson, March 20, 1824. It extends from near the center of the co. to the lake shore. The surface is level. Eighteen Mile Creek crosses the town, dividing it into two unequal portions. The soil is generally a sandy loam; but in some parts it is clayey. Olcott, (p. v.,) on the lake shore, at the mouth of Eighteen Mile Creek, contains 3 churches and about 30 dwellings. Charlotte, (Newfane p.o.,) on Eighteen Mile Creek, near the center of the town, contains 2 churches and about 25 dwellings. Hess Road, in the E., and Coomer, in the w. part, are p. offices. The first settlement was made in 1807, by Wm. Chambers12 and John Brewer, from Canada.13 The first religious services were con- dueted in 1811, by a colored Methodist minister from Canada. There are 5 ehurelies in town.14
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