USA > New York > Niagara County > Landmarks of Niagara County, New York > Part 23
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The Oneida Community has a branch of its various interests in Ni- agara Falls for the manufacture of silver plated ware and chains. The business here was established in 1880; P. H. Noyes is manager.
The Electric City Brewing Company was incorporated in 1895, capi- tal, $125,000, and succeeded the Whirlpool Co-operative Brewing Com- pany, which was organized March 7, 1893, with a capital of $80,000. M. W. O'Boyle is president ; John S. Macklem, vice president; F. L. Lovelace, secretary ; A. C. Buell, treasurer.
The Niagara Surface Coating Company was incorporated January I, 1897, succeeding the Niagara Glazed Paper Company, in the manufac- ture of coated papers. John C. Lammerts is president ; Eugene Cary, secretary and treasurer. The capital is $35,000.
The Carter Crume Company, organized in 1893, manufacture ex- tensively check books, autographic registers and supplies, paper boxes, butter dishes, sign letters and silver ware. The company has depart- ments at the Falls, Dayton, O., Saginaw, Mich., and Toronto. About 450 hands are employed in the Niagara Falls establishment. Thomas McDowell is the efficient manager of this concern.
Other establishments that must be included in the industries of the city are the F. W. Oliver Company, organized in 1894, contractors' and builders' supplies, F. W. Oliver, president and manager. The Niagara Electro-Chemical Company, established in 1896. The Mathieson Alkali Works, manufacturers of soda ash and kindred products, established in 1897. The Albright & Wilson Chemical Company, manufacturers of
W. A. PHILPOTT, JR.
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a chemical soda, began business in 1897. The Acetylene Light, Heat and Power Company ; Charles C. Adams, president, and Joseph P. De- vine, manager, established in 1896; the Chemical Construction Com- pany, Frederick Overbury, general manager ; the Niagara Falls Brew- ing Company, Arthur Schoellkopf, secretary; Thomas E. McGarigle and Philpott & Leuppie, machinists; the Niagara Falls Distilling and Chem- ical Company; the Colt Block Company ; the Power City Lumber Com- pany, John M. Diver, proprietor ; the Cataract Ice Company ; the Car- borundum Works; the Pittsburgh Reduction Company, manufacturers of aluminum, established in September, 1895. Several of these com- panies, as has been seen, are of recent origin and are directly the off- spring of the great power company, which, by selling them power at low rates, has made their successful existence here possible. While they are in some instances operated largely or wholly by foreign capi- tal, they are of great indirect benefit to the city, and an indication of what may be induced to follow their steps hither to secure the advan- tages which they are reaping.
The Niagara Falls Tower Company was organized in 1893, with $200,000 capital, its purpose being the erection of a steel observation tower about 190 feet high over what is known as the Tower Hotel. R. W Jones is secretary and treasurer.
The Dobbie Foundry and Machine Company was incorporated in December, 1896, and succeeded Dobbie, Stuart & Co., which was in- corporated in 1894, succeeding Dobbie & Stuart, who began business in 1892. John Dobbie is president and treasurer of the company ; Ar- chibald Dobbie, secretary ; John T. Horton, superintendent ; the capital is $40,000.
The Suspension Bridge Cold Storage Warehouse Company was or- ganized about 1889 by H. P. Stanley & Co., who remodeled the old Monteagle Hotel for the purpose of storage ; the capacity is about 35,- 000 barrels. Willis Van Horn has always been president and manager of the business.
In connection with the industrial interests of Niagara Falls, and especially for the general business advancement of the city, a Chamber of Commerce was organized in 1895, which at the present time consists of the following members, among many others: Hon. Arthur Schoell-
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kopf, Hon. W. Caryl Ely, Gen. Benjamin Flagler, Capt. M. B. Butler, James Low, J. C. Morgan, Max Amberg, Augustus Thibadeau, City Engineer Reed, Hon. Frank A. Dudley, W. B. Rankine, W. A. Brackenridge, J. J. McIntyre, C. S. Humbert, Major Hardwicke and John C. Lammerts. These men and other members of the organization are among the leading and most active citizens of the city, and the in- fluence of the Chamber of Commerce is already apparent. In June, 1897, they purchased for $6,000 the old armory building on Walnut avenue from the county of Niagara, and perfected plans for converting it into a large convention hall. This armory was erected by the county and long occupied by the 42d Separate Company,
The city of Niagara Falls to day occupies a unique as well as a most promising position in the municipal life of the State and the country. It is in a transition state and men of judgment and forethought believe that it has before it a future of unbounded prosperity and growth. All material indications point to such results. The harnessing of the mighty power of the great cataract is alone sufficient to give the city world- wide fame, while at the same time it must make it the seat of industries without limit, which can here find the motive power needed at less cost than anywhere else in the country. The grandeur of the scenery ; the various connections being rapidly perfected by electric railroads with other points of interest and profit ; the improvements made annually in the beautiful State Reservation ; the yearly addition to the population of many energetic men-these are a few of the potent actors that are working together in shaping the hopeful destiny of the city.
Religious services were not generally held in this county so soon after the first settlements as in many other localities, on account of the fron- tier warfare to which it was long subject. There was no church organ- ization until 1815, and it is an acknowledged fact that very few sermons were preached in the town before the war of 1812; this is, of course, laying aside the religious work of the Jesuits. The churches of the city at the present time are shown in the following notices :
Parish of St. Mary's of the Cataract .- Before the erection of Buffalo into an Episcopal See, the mission was occasionally visited by the priest residing at Lockport. Soon after the appointment of Rt. Rev.
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John Timon to the See of Buffalo, Lewiston, Youngstown, and Niagara Falls were formed into a parish (1847), the first pastor, Rev. John Boyle, fixing his residence at Lewiston, which was at the time the largest of the three places. Rev. John Boyle continued to hold the pastoral charge until 1850 and built the old stone church on the site now occupied by the present one. The church lot was donated to the congregation by Judge Porter at the request of Bishop Timon.
Rev. John Boyle was removed in 1850 to another mission and died at Elmira (1857). He was succeeded by Father Nolan, who was suc- ceeded in 1851 by Rev. William C. Stevens. In 1851 Father Stephens changed the pastoral residence from Lewiston to the Falls, and built the church at Suspension Bridge. During the year 1856-7, the house and lot north of the church were purchased for a pastoral residence for the sum of $1,600.
In 1859 Father Stephens was removed to Rochester, the Lazarist Fathers taking charge of the mission during the following three years. The pastors during this time were Rev. Ed. Maginnis, C. M., Rev. John Moynihan, C. M., Rev. Ed. M. Hennessy, C. M., and Rev. William A. Ryan, C. M. Rev. Father Stephens returned to the Falls in the month of April, 1862, and after a pastorate of only five months died on Mon- day, September I. His body was interred behind the old church, but owing to the enlargement of the building, now reposes at the head of the centre aisle, just in front and partly under the railing of the sanctuary.
After his return, Father Stephens had charge only of St. Mary's par- ish (Niagara Falls), as the mission had been previously divided.
Rev. Patrick Cannon succeeded Father Stephens on the 16th of the same month. During the following summer, 1863, the enlargement of the church was undertaken and the addition of the sanctuary, transept and side chapels was made. This work was completed in the fall, and opened for divine service on Sunday, 13th day of December, within the octave of the Immaculate Conception B. V. M., by Rt. Rev. Bishop Timon. On the same day he administered confirmation and conse- crated the main altar under the title and invocation of the Immaculate Conception, B. V. M., and placed in the sepulchre the relics of the Holy Martyrs, Castus, Benignus and Innocentius.
In the month of August, 1864, the academy property was purchased
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from A. H. Porter for the sum of $10,000. Of this amount the first $2,000 were paid by the parish at the time of the purchase. The re- maining $8,000 were paid by the ladies who took charge of the institu- tion and opened a day and boarding school for girls.
In the summer of 1865 the church enlargement was resumed, and the nave and side aisles were added to the part of the building put up two years before. In the second addition the old church almost totally disappeared, the front only being left standing. The site and size of the old building was exactly that now occupied and covered by the nave proper of the new church, the present pillars standing where stood the walls of the old church.
The church was opened for service on Sunday, the 5th day of No- vember, of the same year (1865), by the Rt. Rev. Bishop, who also administered the sacrament of confirmation to nearly one hundred per- sons on the same day.
In the fall of 1866 a very successful mission was preached in the par- ish by two of the Rev. Oblate Fathers, M. I. The number of commu- nicants was about eight hundred. In the spring of 1869 a new organ was purchased for the church at a cost of $700 and opened with a con- cert on May 13. On May 30, 1869, Rt. Rev. Bishop Ryan made his first official visit to the church, gave first communion to the children at the high mass, and administered confirmation in the afternoon to 140 persons. After a pastorship of six years and ten months, Rev. Patrick Cannon left the parish to take charge of St. Patrick's church, Lockport, on July 12, 1869, and was succeeded by Rev. Patrick Moynihan, who entered upon his pastoral duties on the same day.
The pastorate of the Rev. Father Cannon was replete with zeal for the welfare of his congregation. When we have to consider the sparse revenue with which he had to bring forth so many improvements, and the small amount of debt ($1,069.00) on the church when he left the parish, we cannot but admire his great administrative ability and untir- ing energy. As he is still laboring in the vineyard of the Lord, we forbear saying many things in his praise; the truth of which is attested by the monuments of zeal left after him, and the kind memories still lingering in the hearts of the people.
The first work undertaken by Rev. Father P. Moynihan, after paying
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off the debt ($1,069 00), was to purchase the lot south of the church and the two frame buildings thereon, for the purpose of a boy's paro- chial school. The lot owned by Jeremiah Callahan was sold to the church for the sum of $1,500.
On the 8th of October, 1870, the school was opened with 120 chil- dren, and the ladies from the Academy took charge for a salary of $400. Each boy paid towards this amount thirty cents per month. In the spring of 1873 Father Moynihan called a meeting of the congregation and proposed the erection of a new school house, or the building of a new church front. The latter motion prevailed. A committee was formed and the contract of building stone front and steeples was awarded to Philips & Wright. The estimated cost of the front was $10,000.
The corner stone of the tower was laid by the Rt. Rev. Bishop Ryan on June 30, 1872, and the work completed by the following November. To meet the cost of this addition to the church, a mortgage of $3,000 was given to the Erie County Savings Bank on the church property (lots 16, 18 and 20), and smaller sums were borrowed from private individuals, thus creating a debt of nearly $9,000. The balance was raised by voluntary subscription, and for extra work not covered by the contract, a fair was held.
After the completion of the church front, the question of purchasing a bell arose, and a committee was formed consisting of S. Geyer, presi- dent; Matthies Fedespiel, treasurer ; Thomas V. Welch, secretary, and Messrs Robert Joyce and William Vaney, collectors, for the purpose of raising the funds necessary to procure the bell. The manner of solicit- ing was by issuing shares of $10 each, which were sold to all persons indiscriminately. The cost of the bell was $1,400, but by reduction for cash, $1,200.
From the year 1860 there existed in the parish a very flourishing temperance society, founded by Rev. Father McGinnis, Henry McBride being its first president. The society had done valuable service in the cause of total abstinence, and numbered at one time over one hundred active members. Under its influence and direction, entertainments and concerts were given for the benefit of the church, and at all times the members of this society evinced a spirit of obedience and zeal toward
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the interests of the church. The members formed debating clubs, spelling bees, and such like amusements for the youth, while once a year the members gave a supper, to which their friends were invited, and thus the society helped promote social intercourse among the members of the congregation.
However, some members of the parish wished to have a society in con- nection with the church, to which they might affiliate themselves with- out foregoing the pleasures of the wine cup Accordingly, about the time of the solemn consecration of the bell, which took place in July, 1876, a meeting of the men of the congregation was called. At the meeting the idea of a society similar to the A. O. U. W. originated, and the Rt. Rev. Bishop approving, the C. M. B. A. sprang into existence. Its first president was Mr. Barrett; Matthies Fedespiel, treasurer; James McKenna, secretary. From its modest beginning, it has spread itself over a great portion of the Northern States and Canada.
For the last two years of his pastorate, Rev. Father Moynihan felt his health rapidly declining, and the cares of his parish weighing heavily upon him. He, therefore, resolved to carry out his long cherished wish of visiting once more the city of Genoa, where beneath the influence of the milder Italian atmosphere, and amid the scene of his loved alma mater, he expected to regain his lost strength and renovate his shat- tered health. On the 7th of September, 1878, he, therefore, started for Europe in company with the Rt. Rev. Bishop, who was then about to make his second visit ad limina. Father Moynihan died in Genoa on the 3d of December, 1878, and his remains were brought back to his native town, Batavia, New York, where lived his parents, one brother and two sisters. The Rt. Rev. Bishop assisted at the Mass of Requiem in Batavia, and preached a very beautiful sermon in which he paid a well deserved tribute to the piety and zeal of the deceased.
At the same moment of his interment at Batavia, the C. M. B. A., which he had founded, was holding its second annual convention at Ni- agara Falls. On behalf of the congregation of Niagara Falls, Messrs. Michael Ryan, Jeremiah Callaghan, and Thomas V. Welch attended the obsequies of the deceased pastor, at which also were present a great number of priests from the diocese of Rochester.
From the day of Father Moynihan's department for Italy until his
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death, Rev. James A. Lanigan, the Bishop's secretary, acted as pastor pro tem. On the return of the Rt. Rev. Bishop from Rome, he was ap- pointed permanent pastor, or rector. His first efforts were directed toward diminishing the debt of the church, which was then about $9,000.
On the 17th of November, 1881, a mission was begun by two Re- demptorist fathers, during which Holy Communion was given to about I 200 persons. At the conclusion of the mission, the Rt. Rev. Bishop administered the sacrament of confirmation to seventy-five persons. This was the second visit of the bishop for the same purpose since the advent of Father Lanigan to the parish, the former visit being on June 22, 1879, on which occasion thirty-three children were confirmed.
During the summer and fall of 1881 about $500 were expended on sacred vestments. A new brussels carpet was also purchased for the sanctuary, and the following year a new altar, designed by the pastor and built by Patrick Nolan, his labor being donated, was erected over the table of the old one. The Children of Mary presented the adoring Angels, and the boys of the parochial school, the large statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which now adorns the altar. In the hand of the statue may be found a paper bearing the names of the boys who con- tributed. The brass Repositorium over the tabernacle was the gift of the French delegates to the Yorktown Centenary Celebration, the Marchioness De Rochambeau making the presentation.
By the spring of 1883 the debt of the church had been reduced to $3,500, and the pastor, feeling the absolute necessity for a new school house and hall for church purposes, brought the matter to the notice of the congregation. Immediately, without leaving the church, a sub- scription was opened which realized promises to the amount of $2,200. A building committee was then formed consisting of Rev. James A. Lanigan, president ; Michael Ryan, treasurer; Francis P. Lanigan, sec- retary ; John Maloney, Sebastian Geyer, Robert Joyce, James Reyn- olds, Patrick Gavin and Robert Thompson. Accordingly as the money on the subscription was paid in, it was placed on interest in the Cataract Bank. The following spring, the money being nearly all paid in, two plans, one of a two story building, estimated cost, $8,000, and another of a three-story, cost about $10,000, were submitted to the
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men of the congregation; the latter plan was the almost unanimous choice of all present. It was, therefore, adopted by the committee, and after the approval of the Rt Rev. Bishop had been received, bids were solicited for the erection of the building. Messrs. A. M. O'Brien, of Lockport, mason, and George E. Wright & Co., of Niagara Falls, car- penters, being in their respective lines, the lowest bidders, secured the contract. The old buildings were sold for the sum of $110. Ground was broken on the Ist day of May, 1884, and by the 25th day of the following October, the building was completed. The ceremony of dedication took place on the 28th of October, at which the Rt. Rev. ยท Bishop presided.
While this work was going on the pastor undertook the renovation of the cemetery. About $200 were spent in building a road and plank sidewalk. The new ground was opened on Sunday, September 28, 1884. This was the occasion of the regular official visitation by the Rt. Rev. Bishop, who, having assisted at the solemn High Mass, adminis- tered the sacrament of confirmation, confirmed a number of children and adults, performed all the duties of the episcopal visitation, conse- crated the old and new cemeteries, and closed the day's labors by assist- ing at vespers in the evening and preaching a sermon.
Having paid off nearly all the debt on the school house with the ex - ception of about $2,000 which were loaned by himself to the building committee, the pastor turned his attention to the erection of a new parochial residence. The house in which he lived had been purchased in 1850 by Rev. Father Stevens from John McAfee. It had formerly been a barn. At the time of which we speak it had fallen into decay, leaked at every angle, was in fact a veritable "cave of the winds." When offered for sale, no one would purchase it, so it had to be torn down in order to make way for the new edifice. This was begun May 1, 1886, and the pastor celebrated the following Christmas in his new residence. The cost of its erection was about $7,000, but the attic was left unfinished ; $4,000 of this amonnt were raised by a fair and sub- scription, the balance was loaned by the pastor to the church.
The following summer Miss Nardin notified the Rev. Pastor that she was forced by circumstances to give up the parochial school, and it be- came necessary to provide other teachers for the work. On the open-
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ing of the school, five sisters of Mercy were sent by Rev. Mother Dol- ores, of Batavia, to take charge of the school.
The first Presbyterian church was organized April 3, 1824, with the following trustees : Augustus Porter, Isaac Smith, Aaron Childs, ' Samuel De Veaux, Ira Cook and Ziba Gay. Aaron Childs and Isaac Smith were the first elders. The pulpit was supplied for a time by Rev. D. M. Smith, of Lewiston, and the first regular pastor was Rev. H. A. Parsons. The first church edifice was erected on the corner of First and Falls street, and used until 1849, when it was sold to the Methodist society. The present stone church was built in 1849, and in 1863 the parsonage was presented to the society by Miss Lavinia E. Porter. Rev. A. S. Bacon is pastor.
Sketches of the Protestant Episcopal churches appear in the chapter devoted to Lockport.
The history of Lewiston shows that there was a Baptist church in that town in comparatively early years and many of that faith living in Niagara attended service there until 1841. At that time (November 17) a branch of that society was organized at Niagara Falls with the following members : William B. Dart, Catharine Dart, Joseph Nixon, Hard Munns, Elizabeth Munns, Maria Waite, Minerva Lyon, Sarah Hand, Sarah Collett, Charles Patterson, Peter O. Bronson, Jane Bron - son and Rhoda A. Chamberlin. The first deacon of this society was Hard Munns, and the first trustees, Hard Munns, John Kelly and Will- iam B. Dart. Rev. A. Cleghorn was the first pastor. The formal or- ganization of the church did not take place until February 21, 1842. The early meetings were held in private houses, but in the spring of 1843 the society began the erection of a church edifice of stone; it was soon so far complete as to enable the congregation to use it for meetings, but it was not wholly finished until 1854. The property is now valued at $21,000. Rev. Lewis A. Mitchell has been pastor since December 10, 1893. A Baptist church which was organized in 1860 is maintained on the Reservation.
Methodism was introduced at Niagara Falls as early as 1815, in which year a society was organized. In 1820 a Conference was held at Lundy's Lane, before the division of the church in Canada and the United States. From that date onward there was occasional preaching
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in this faith at the Falls and in this vicinity. The meetings were held for some time, as were also those of other denominations, in a small union building on the site of the International Hotel In 1849 the so- ciety purchased the church edifice which had been erected and used until that time by the Presbyterians, and occupied it until 1864, when the site of the present St. Paul's Methodist church was purchased ; the stone edifice erected there cost about $25,000, and is still in use.
St. James Methodist church (at the Bridge) was organized in Octo- ber, 1892, and a chapel was erected which was dedicated December 21, 1892. W. J. West is pastor.
The German Evangelical Lutheran Zion's church was organized in 1850, and the old church was built soon afterward. This was in use until 1895, when the property was sold for $6,500 and a new site pur- chased for $10,000, where the present handsome edifice was erected at a cost of $25.000. This building is newly furnished in accordance with modern requirements. J. H. Asbeck has served as pastor since 1889.
The Church of the Sacred Heart Heart (Roman Catholic) was origi- nally named St. Raphael's church. The edifice was erected in 1855, and enlarged in 1864. It was subsequently burned and the present church was erected nearly on the same site and the name of the society changed. The edifice was dedicated in 1889 and cost about $50,000. The incorporation of the society took place in 1891. In 1895 the society purchased the old stone church building of the Evangelical Zion's society and converted it into a school.
The German Evangelical Lutheran Trinity church was organized and the edifice built in 1896; it is situated at the Bridge. Wilhelm H. Oldach is the first and present pastor.
The South Avenue Evangelical church was organized in 1856, and soon afterward erected its first church edifice. This was superseded in 1893 by the present structure, which was dedicated December 10 of that year. The first trustees were J. J. Vogt, D. Grauer, Gottlieb Rommel. The present church cost a little more than $12,000.
What is known as the Church of God was organized by members of the Church of Christ in 1892, and the pastor of the former society joined with the new organization in December of that year. This de- nomination is strong in the west, but it has only small representation in this State.
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