The New York State Public Service Commission has announced that residential, business and wireless customers within the existing 716 area code region should begin to prepare for the introduction of the new 624 area code, as early as the second quarter of 2024. [Read more…] about Western New York To Get New 624 Area Code
Niagara County
Nearly $1M Awarded in Community Forest Conservation Grants
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has announced more than $956,000 in awards to four towns in western and central New York and Long Island to establish community forests.
Protecting forests from potential development and establishing new forested areas helps preserve biodiversity and safeguard the ecosystem benefits forests provide, such as storm water mitigation, temperature regulation, carbon sequestration, and climate resiliency. In addition, community forests bring community benefits by creating new opportunities for public access and recreation. [Read more…] about Nearly $1M Awarded in Community Forest Conservation Grants
1813: Fall of Fort Niagara & Burning the Niagara Frontier
In December 1813, during the War of 1812, there was a human catastrophe as a result of the burning of the Niagara Frontier. Only one home was spared along the 37-mile-long border and upwards of 6,000 refugees fled into the snowy forests heading for the Genesee River and safety.
Richard V. Barbuto’s book New York’s War of 1812: Politics Society and Combat (University of Oklahoma Press, 2021), looks back to the War of 1812, from the beleaguered Fort McHenry to the burning White House to an embattled New Orleans. [Read more…] about 1813: Fall of Fort Niagara & Burning the Niagara Frontier
Joseph Davis State Park’s Watchable Wildlife
The Niagara River flows north from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario and forms part of the border between the province of Ontario in Canada and New York State.
Located on the banks of the Lower Niagara River, the Joseph Davis State Park’s diverse habitats enable visitors to enjoy the natural world. Wetlands, successional shrublands, fields, meadows, forest, and open waters attract an abundance of wildlife species. The park has a nature trail, as well as cross-country skiing/snowshoeing and snowmobiling trails. [Read more…] about Joseph Davis State Park’s Watchable Wildlife
Greater Niagara Birding Trail Opens To Public
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has announced the grand opening of the Greater Niagara segment of the New York State Birding Trail. The route highlights the State’s world-class and wide-ranging birding opportunities.
The Greater Niagara segment includes 36 locations throughout Erie, Genesee, Niagara, Orleans, and Wyoming counties, providing a variety of quality birding experiences. [Read more…] about Greater Niagara Birding Trail Opens To Public
America’s 250th Student Fellowships Funded In Western NY
The Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation has awarded SUNY distinguished professor of history Michael Leroy Oberg, the SUNY Geneseo Center for Local and Municipal History, and a consortium of six other colleges and universities, a three-year grant of more than $300K for American War of Independence Semiquincentennial student fellowships.
Several of the institutions in the fellowship program have committed $150K of matching funds for the project, bringing the total to over $450K. [Read more…] about America’s 250th Student Fellowships Funded In Western NY
Slave To Soldier: George Martin’s Fight For Freedom
As the Town of Niagara, NY municipal historian I’m researching the lives of those buried in one of our local cemeteries. Witmer Cemetery was originally the burying ground of the Witmer family, who settled here after arriving from Pennsylvania in 1811. The earliest gravestone in the cemetery is from 1828, but it’s estimated that about 200 people have been buried there since.
I began my research at the front row, where a toppled headstone marked the final resting place of George Martin and Jane, his wife. [Read more…] about Slave To Soldier: George Martin’s Fight For Freedom
300th Anniversary of Le Magazin Royal Niagara Trading Post Being Marked
The Historical Association of Lewiston, the Niagara Falls National Heritage Area, Artpark and Old Fort Niagara are set to celebrate the 300th Anniversary of Le Magazin Royal Niagara Trading Post on September 12th, at Artpark in Lewiston. [Read more…] about 300th Anniversary of Le Magazin Royal Niagara Trading Post Being Marked
First To Volunteer: The Conflicting Civil War Claims
When rumbles of impending Civil War rolled through the North, New Yorkers were roused to volunteer even before Fort Sumter was taken and the President rallied troops.
After Sumter fell and Lincoln issued his proclamation, more New Yorkers offered their service to the Union. Likewise, men in other states sought to join the Union army both before and after the proclamation.
After the war, some of those early, quick volunteers also battled to be named the first volunteer for the Union. Months, years, and decades after the war, numerous claims and accolades for who had been the first volunteer began emerging across the North. [Read more…] about First To Volunteer: The Conflicting Civil War Claims
Sculptor Edmonia Lewis: From Albany to Rome, Italy
When American writer Henry James labeled the group of American women sculpting in Rome the “white marmorean flock,” he also made another note. “One of the sisterhood was a negress, whose color, picturesquely contrasting with that of her plastic material [white marble], was the pleading agent of her fame.” Like many of his contemporaries, James attributed the success of Edmonia Lewis to her skin color while also disregarding her mixed-race heritage.
In the early nineteenth century, it was difficult to be an American sculptor. There were no professional art schools, no specialized carvers, few quality materials, and only a few practicing sculptors in America. The pilgrimage to Rome was a necessity for those who aspired to be sculptors. If a woman wished to pursue sculpting, she confronted additional obstacles. [Read more…] about Sculptor Edmonia Lewis: From Albany to Rome, Italy