Buffalo: History

Erie's Earliest Beginnings

Lake Erie was the first Great Lake to form during the retreat of the Wisconsin glacier at the close of the last ice age approximately 15,000 years ago. As the ice gradually melted, it formed lakes within its boundaries and eventually left rock moraines that acted as natural dams in the creation of the Great Lakes system. The glacier scoured and smoothed the land as it left what would become the U.S. and created channels here and there where water would flow out of the lake to carve rivers such as the Niagara. It wasn't a completely barren landscape—mammoth bones have been unearthed in western New York state, dating to the last period of glaciation. About 3,000 years after the glaciers vacated the area, early man moved in to the neighborhood. Called Folsom Man due to the arrowheads used in hunting, they were a nomadic Stone Age people and were eventually replaced by a series of primitive native peoples, the fore-bears of the Iroquois.

The Iroquois settled in western New York and began to develop sophisticated systems of community and architecture. These early inhabitants of Buffalo were peace-loving, matriarchal hunters and farmers who would settle in an area temporarily, farm the soil until it needed a rest, then move on to a new location. Other native tribes in the region included the Hurons, the Eries, and the Neutral-Wenro; from time to time, there were conflicts among the groups. Ultimately, though, the Iroquois were as almost as well-known for building coalitions as they were for their most famous member, Hiawatha.

The first European settler in the region of present-day Buffalo was a French trader who established a short-lived settlement in 1758 in a territory inhabited by the Iroquois tribe. At the conclusion of the French and Indian War, Great Britain took control of the entire area. In 1790 the Holland Land Company purchased four tracts of land in western New York and sent surveyor Joseph Ellicott there in 1803 to draw up a plan for a city on Lake Erie and the Niagara River, which he called New Amsterdam. Residents of the area did not approve of this choice of name, preferring the name Buffalo. One legend has it that Buffalo was a mispronunciation of the French beau fleuve (beautiful river), possibly referring to the nearby Niagara River.

The Price of Freedom

In the late 1700s and early 1800s, settlers in the New England area and beyond were becoming uncomfortable with British rule for a number of reasons. The U.K. wasn't allowing U.S. ships to trade with France; they were pressing American seamen to serve in their war; the settlers in the U.S. were desirous of more territory; and, possibly of most concern to residents of early Buffalo, it was feared that the British in Canada would incite Native American violence against people living in what was then the frontier. On the east coast, there were additional concerns regarding increasingly oppressive taxation, and the United States decided it had had enough—war was declared against Britain. During the War of 1812, the British burned every building in Buffalo with the exception of a jail, a blacksmith shop, and one residence, but the town was quickly rebuilt by an undaunted citizenry. In the 1820s Buffalo was chosen as the western terminus of the Erie Canal, connecting the Great Lakes to the Hudson River and ultimately to the Atlantic Ocean, thereby opening the West to trade. By 1825 Buffalo was a major port. The city's commercial importance was increased during the Civil War of the 1860s when alternate transportation routes to the West were needed. New York State and Buffalo were part of the union, contributing materials, money, and men to the war effort. Buffalo itself became a terminus on the Underground Railroad system, hiding escaped slaves and aiding their relocation to Canada before, during, and after the war between the states.

In the mid- and late-1800s, Buffalo was becoming a heavy manufacturing center as Joseph Hibbard began building steam engines there and Joseph Dart invented the steam-powered grain elevator. The city developed into one of the largest grain storage and processing centers in the world, a distinction it still holds, attracting immigrants from throughout Europe and growing from a population of 10,000 people in 1831 to 352,000 people in 1900. The harnessing of hydroelectric power from the Niagara Falls in the early 1900s brought electricity-consuming industries to the area, including the iron and steel industries, which until the 1980s made up the city's major industrial sectors, together with the transportation-equipment manufacturers who still fill that role.

Buffalo in the Twentieth Century

The Pan-American Exposition of 1901, held in Buffalo to celebrate a century of progress in the Western Hemisphere, contributed to the city's growth as well as to its notoriety. After delivering the opening speech at the exposition on September 6, 1901, U.S. President William McKinley was shot, dying eight days later. Immediately Vice President Theodore Roosevelt took the oath of office in Buffalo, assuming the presidency.

In 1927, the Peace Bridge opened, creating an international link between Buffalo and Fort Erie, Ontario. The associated celebration hosted luminaries such as British royalty (including a couple of future kings), a prime minister or two, the U.S. Vice President, and the Governor of the State of New York. Unfortunately, things soon took a downhill turn—after World War II, when automation began to replace heavy industrial employment and companies began to move out of the area, Buffalo suffered a severe population loss. The next big economic blow was the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway in 1957, allowing for goods to be transported by a series of locks and canals to the St. Lawrence River and completely bypassing Buffalo. Industries began to shut down and only about 50 percent of the population at its peak was left as many fled the Rust Belt for better economic and atmospheric climes.

Buffalo Today

Efforts have been underway since the 1970s to stem the population loss and to attract new industries that will in turn attract workers who will come to Buffalo and stay. Stabilizing the tax base has been a primary mission of Buffalo city and New York state government for nearly 60 years. Progress on urban renewal began slowly, with the Buffalo Economic Renaissance Corporation leading the way. In the 1990s, Buffalo initiated a massive rebuilding of the downtown business district that enhanced historical structures, increased office space, and improved amenities. Unfortunately the terrorist attacks felt nationwide in the new century took a toll.

The repercussions of the tragedies of September 11, 2001, still are felt today in Buffalo. Aside from the city's compassion for the pain of New York City dwellers, the effects of the Patriot Act and other legislation linked to homeland security have both tightened up the U.S.-Canada border for trade purposes and have discouraged Canadian students from attending college in the nearby Buffalo region, regardless of the reputation of the local research programs.

The city is striving to level the Sun Belt and suburban flight out by creating a new niche in life science research, which utilizes much of the wisdom of the city's industrial past while keeping an eye to the future. A low cost of living, innovative employment opportunities, and the beauties of Lake Erie and Niagara Fallswill continue to keep Buffalo buoyant.

Historical Information: Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society, 25 Nottingham Court, Buffalo, NY 14216; telephone (716)873-9644