Niagara County Historian's Office

03/25/2024

Most of Frank Gaffney's letters are in our office and his medals, including the Medal of Honor are on display in the Niagara County Courthouse rotunda.. This promises to be a fabulous talk.

02/11/2023

After our little earthquake earlier this week, I thought I would do some research on the history of earthquakes in Niagara County.

If you felt the earth move under your feet the other day, you were not alone. The largest earthquake to strike Western New York in four dec...

07/29/2022

Congratulations to Old Fort Niagara's Executive Director Robert Emerson for being named by the French Government as a member of the Order national du Merite, or the National Order of merit for his work in keeping French History alive in Western New York through the former military fort.
(Featured in photo from left to right: 1st District Legislator Irene Myers, French Consul General Jeremie Robert, 145 District Assemblyman Angelo Morinello, Old Fort Niagara Executive Director Robert Emerson, Niagara County Clerk Joseph Jastrzemski)

05/13/2022

May13, 1829 was the first election in the Village of Lockport. While we know who was victorious in that inaugural election, who were some of the other people who fought for the right to sit on that first Board of Trustees? What were the issues of the day? And how did this election impact the formation of the nation's first third party? Read on to find out.

May 13th in the City of Lockport has a special meaning, even if most of us don’t realize it. On that date in 1829, the newly formed Village ...

05/03/2022

Sometimes when doing research for one thing, we fall into something else. Such in the case with the Webber Brothers of Lockport. In the era of the Civil War, two of the Webber Brothers served in the war, finding travels all over the populated areas of the country. Despite ending up in various states, three of the four brothers were returned home after their deaths for their eternal rests.

Civil War Cannon. Courtesy Magicmurals.com One of the greatest thrills of doing historical research is not necessarily finding something yo...

08/16/2021

Did you know that Lockport once hosted the Chicago White Sox for an exhibition game at Outwater Park? They played their Class D farm team, the Lockport White Sox in 1942. In our own field of dreams, we saw the majors come to town, if only for one day.

Lockport White Sox vs Jamestown Falcons opening day at Outwater Stadium It’s been a month or so since the Toronto Blue Jays were playing maj...

07/24/2021

Winter Willis Bradley was born in Niagara County.

Lieutenant Willis Winter Bradley Jr. earned the Medal of Honor on this day in 1917. A dedicated career Naval Academy graduate, Bradley was serving as gunnery officer on the armored cruiser U.S.S. Pittsburgh. Bradley was entering a casemate on the ship when ammunition inside accidentally exploded, knocking him unconscious. Upon recovery, Bradley crawled into the burning casemate and extinguished the ammunition, preventing it from reaching a nearby pile of gunpowder that cost many lives if it exploded. Bradley received the Medal of Honor for this action!

https://bit.ly/3kvVJVR

05/27/2021

The late William Leyden, who served during WWI, was remembered for his service Wednesday afternoon, when his medals were returned to his family after being missing for decades. “He was quite young,…

05/12/2021

We are looking for the family of Stanley G. Smith who died in Lockport in 2006. His brother Earl J. Smith was killed in Aachen in 1944. Stanley's daughter Olivia Weil may still be living in Lockport. If you can help locating her or another family member, it would be appreciated. Thank you.

10/02/2020

The office is open Wed -Fri, by appointment only -- call first and come on in. In the meantime you might find this lecture by Dr. Richard Barbuto interesting, especially if you enjoy learning about the War of 1812.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIXf18EX98o

07/31/2020

HISTORIAN'S OFFICE UPDATE!

The Niagara County Historian's Office will be reopening to the public in mid August. Due to the Corona Virus, our office will be instituting an appointment system, and making other preparations to be ready for our researchers. Please stay tuned for information about how you can safely visit us once again!

07/03/2020