Niagara History Center

In 1871, the Lockport Ladies Relief Society saw a need to provide for widows and orphans who didn’t have a permanent home after the deaths of so many soldiers who fought in the Civil War. The group purchased the Nelson House, located at 387 High Street, and named it the “Home for the Friendless”. In its first year, the home admitted 29 children and 3 elderly ladies. Over the years, the number of people staying only continued to grow. The Ladies Relief Society worked tirelessly to raise money and make bedding for all of the women and children in need. The people of Lockport helped significantly in this effort and were very generous with donations of their money and material goods. Unfortunately, the house didn’t have a large capacity, and the home quickly became overcrowded and started struggling financially.
This went on until 1892, when Governor Washington Hunt’s former summer home was deeded to the Lockport Home of the Friendless. Located at 6935 Old Niagara Road, this new location provided room for all of the women and children in need. The building was even able to be expanded upon, and in 1900, the Hodge Wing was built and became a children’s infirmary. In 1917, the name was changed from “Lockport Home for the Friendless” to “Wyndham Lawn Home for Children”. The name has since changed to “New Directions”, but it remains at the same site as Wyndham Lawn was. Shown first is a photo of Wyndham Lawn, and the second is the original site of the Home for the Friendless.

On September 3rd, 1894, the Odd Fellows Home opened in Lockport, NY. Just as with the Odd Fellows Orphanage (see our post from yesterday), it was run by a fraternal group called the Odd Fellows. The general public nicknamed the organization, deeming it “odd” for a group of people to focus on assisting the less fortunate without seeking public recognition. The Odd Fellows home opened as a home for Odd Fellows members, but it soon expanded to welcome widows, orphans, and the impoverished. The home could initially accommodate just 20 residents, but was expanded over the years to accommodate over 100 residents. It was in business until 1972, when it was replaced by a modern facility for senior living and became the Odd Fellow & Rebekah Rehabilitation and Healthcare Clinic. Since the change, the center has been consistently updated and modernized. In 2018, the Elderwood group purchased the property and was chosen by the Odd Fellow group due to their similar commitment to high-quality local care. Today, the property is called Elderwood at Lockport.

The Nathan Comstock Jr. House is one of the first stone houses built in Lockport, originally built out of stone removed from the Erie Canal. The house has played a significant role in helping others over its 200+ year lifespan. The building was a site on the Underground Railroad, used as a shelter for enslaved people fleeing to Canada. Starting in 1907, the home was expanded upon and turned into the Odd Fellows Orphanage, which could fit up to 160 children inside. The name “Odd Fellows” comes from the Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF), which evolved from an English charter. The philanthropic fraternal group aims to assist the less fortunate through constructing Odd Fellow Buildings for those in need. In Lockport, one of such buildings was the Odd Fellows Orphanage.
The orphanage operated until 1944, when it was sold privately with the intention of being renovated. Unfortunately, those renovations never occurred, and the house was abandoned and in disrepair by the 1980’s. The house became occupied by squatters and animals of all kinds until 2011, when the home earned a preservation award and was able to be renovated. On September 29th, 2011, the home was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Today, the site of the Odd Fellows Orphanage still stands at 299 Old Niagara Road in Lockport and is privately owned.

For years, Union Station was a railroad landmark in Lockport, NY. The train station was built in 1889, and was a stop for trains traveling between Niagara Falls and Rochester. The station was made with red bricks, elaborate stone trim, limestone archways, and even had imported Tiffany & Co. Windows. At its peak in the early 1900’s, Union Station would service up to 35 trains per day. It remained open to trains until 1957, when the New York Central Falls Road line, which the station was positioned on, ended passenger service. Union Station was abandoned for 10 years, until it was renovated into a Victorian-style restaurant in 1971. Unfortunately, the Union Station Restaurant was not open long due to major fires in 1974 and again in 1978. The restaurant was rebuilt and renamed to “The Depot” after the 1974 fire, but it was closed permanently after the second devastating fire struck.
Union Station was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977, which allowed potential renovators to be able to apply for grants to rebuild Union Station to its former glory. However, the station has mostly received rehabilitation in the form of stability measures, which look to prevent further damage. This is mostly due to the multi-millions that would have to be invested in restoring Union Station.

Trinity Lutheran Church was not organized until 1875, but began in 1857. Trinity was founded due to dissension within Trinity Lutheran Church in Wolcottsville. In the 1860s, this small, new congregation met for prayer services or attended other Lutheran churches for sacraments. Wilhelm Jeremias came to Lockport in 1871 and joined this small group. He invited the Buffalo pastor, Rev. Gross, to Lockport, and he suggested they organize, with local ministers conducting services. This was from 1871 to 1875, when the congregation formally organized with a name, the German Evangelical Lutheran Trinity Congregation of Lockport, NY.

For 9 years, there was no pastor. In 1884, Rev. A. T. Hanser was appointed and two important events occurred: he opened a school, and in 1885, a two story frame structure was built on the NE corner of Washburn & Walnut Sts. (map). The lower level was the school, and the upper one, the church. It was dedicated on May 31, 1885. Membership soon doubled. Just 7 years later, the congregation was at 200, but the church was too small. A lot was purchased at the SE corner of Saxton & Lagrange Sts. and the old church was moved there for use as a school. A new stone church was dedicated on October 29, 1893.

In 1918, German was dropped and there was no tuition to attract more students. A new teacher, E. H. Reinholtz, came who was very popular and the enrollment and reputation of the school rose. With increasing membership and scholars, a larger school/parish hall was built. The new structure opened in 1924 with meeting and class rooms, and even a bowling alley. The next 30 years was an extended period of growth. In 1953, the name was changed to “Trinity Lutheran Church of Lockport, NY.” Later, three fires occurred, the first in 1956, in the Parish Hall; in 1960, in the church; and in 1972, the school/parish hall were destroyed.

Rev. Otto Struckmann (photo) became pastor in 1973. Within a year, a new parish hall was built. He also greatly expanded the church’s outreach into the Lockport community. Vicar Alan Bauch came in 2004 and became sole pastor Rev. Struckmann retired in 2005. Rev. Bauch continues to lead the congregation today.

While Lockport is famous for its “Flight of Five” Locks (hence the city’s name), its locks have changed a lot over the years! In 1825, the Erie Canal opened and the Lockport Locks were in business for boats. It featured two sets of five locks, one side for boats to go up and another to go down. The locks were 12 feet deep, 90 feet long, and 15 feet wide. The Erie Canal very quickly became one of the most important water shipping routes in the United States, and the increased boat travel led the state of New York to realize they already needed a bigger canal. In 1835, just ten years after the canal opened, an enlargement project for the canal was approved. The whole canal was widened and deepened, but in Lockport the locks were also modified. They were expanded to 110 feet long and 18 feet wide, allowing boats to be larger and hold more cargo. Today, the five “old” locks in Lockport have these dimensions from the first enlargement.
In 1905, the first gasoline-powered boat patent was filed. That same year, New York began a massive construction project on the Erie Canal to turn it into the New York State Barge Canal, making it suitable for motorized boats, as mules didn’t need to pull boats anymore. In Lockport, one set of five locks was ripped out and replaced with larger Barge Canal locks, measuring 328 feet long, 45 feet wide, and 30 feet deep. These locks are still operational in Lockport today, and give a wonderful view to tourists of the historic Flight of Five right next to working locks. Shown are three images showing all three phases of the Lockport Locks.

In 1866, Aaron and Eliza Mossell moved their family from Canada to Lockport, NY. Aaron Mossell was a brickmaker, and he purchased a brickyard in Lockport and built a brick house. At his brickyard, he sold bricks to the community in Lockport, which were used to build many buildings in the area. In 1871, he sold bricks at a steep discount to the city of Lockport for the purpose of building a new school. However, when his son Charles tried to enroll his kids at the new school, he was turned down, as there was a “colored school” (with a lesser education level) for colored people. Aaron and Charles didn’t give up, and they petitioned to the school board until they finally closed the colored school and allowed Aaron Mossell’s grandchildren to integrate the school in Lockport. His descendants were very successful, becoming lawyers, teachers, ministers, doctors, and entrepreneurs, just to name a few. In 2021, North Park Junior High in Lockport was renamed Aaron Mossell Junior High School to commemorate Mossell for his campaign that resulted in the integration of Lockport schools in 1876.

The Niagara History Center will be closed tomorrow in observance of Juneteenth. Please visit the Erie Canal Discovery Center at 24 Church Street, open 9 am to 5 pm. Have a wonderful weekend!

In July of 1910, Lockport celebrated Old Home Week, a week-long celebration of the accomplishments of the city of Lockport. The week brought in thousands of visitors and showed off the city’s history, industry, and social life. This was all celebrated through parades, boat rides, concerts, and lots and lots of decorations. Another Old Home Week was done in 1925 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Erie Canal being completed. That week, Lockport greeted guests with several days of themed parades and even more decorations than the first Old Home Week. By 1925, visitors saw a unique change in the Lockport Locks scenery, as the Barge Canal locks had replaced the second “flight of five” in the Erie Canal.
Shown below are several postcards from Old Home Week, showcasing the parades and festivities from the week! Let us know which of the parade float photos shown is your favorite in the comments!

The Niagara History Center is happy to announce another year of the "History Explorers" programs for children ages 7 to 11 years old. These programs give kids the opportunity to have a hands-on approach to local and American history by participating in a variety of activities including crafts, games, relay races, role-playing and much more. This year the programs are sponsored through a grant from the Cornerstone Community Federal Credit Union so they will be bigger and better than ever! Please see the flyer below for the dates and other information as well as how to register your child.

We hope to see you and your children (or grandchildren) this summer so they can experience history in fun and active way!