St. Peter's Episcopal Church

St. Peter’s Episcopal Church was one of the first congregations in Niagara Falls, New York. It originated in 1823 when a few Episcopalians began gathering for services in a schoolhouse near the Falls. By 1829, they built their own chapel called Christ Church. It was renamed St. Peter’s Church in 1847. “This new name honored St. Peter, the first apostle. The name St. Peter’s also honored General Peter B. Porter, whose heirs donated two village lots” on First Street for the church and rectory.

After the Civil War, the population of Niagara Falls--and St. Peter’s--began to grow. Henry Dudley, an architect from New York City, was commissioned to design a new church. Dudley was part of “a reform movement in church design [that] wanted to return to the [architecture] of the medieval church.” This influence is embodied in the church’s steep Gothic roof and crenelated towers. Other notable features include the “central doorway, rose window in the center of the gable, and a bell tower on the east.” Construction was completed in 1880.

In addition to its architecture, St. Peter’s is significant for its support of the abolitionist movement. “Many prominent local families, both African American and European American, 

were associated with [the church].”

Church records reveal that African Americans attended St. Peter’s early on in its history. They were married and buried by the church. For example, St. Peter’s conducted a burial service for Samuel Edwards, a 33-year-old hotel waiter who died of consumption in 1864. In 1880, Mary Luvisa Patterson and Charles Kersey Jackson were married in the church. St. Peter’s also buried 

Edward Sarsnett, a black Civil War soldier from Rhode Island, in 1884.

The Whitney and Porter families were the first European-American settlers of Niagara Falls. These two families, and many of their descendants, also attended St. Peter’s. The Whitney family owned the Cataract House, which employed a large black waitstaff known for their involvement in the Underground Railroad.

Siblings Peter A. Porter and Elizabeth Porter were abolitionists and supporters of the Underground Railroad. When Peter was killed in the Civil War in 1864, the funeral was held at St. Peter’s and the stores closed in Niagara Falls. When Elizabeth died after a long illness in 1876, mourners filled the church. For the first time in the history of Niagara Falls, the bells of St. Peter’s and a nearby Catholic church simultaneously tolled in her honor.

St. Peter’s Episcopal Church is located at 140 Rainbow Boulevard, close to the Falls and other downtown attractions. The city’s Historic Preservation Commission has designated the church a historic landmark.

Hope L. Russell, Ph.D.