STORIES
OF THE
NIAGARA FALLS NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA
Like the immigrants who came to Niagara Falls and shaped our vibrant city, we are called upon today to "Imagine the Possibilities"
A stunning art installation has transformed the "grand old lady of Main Street" into 74 "Portrait Ladies" painted by artist Polly King.
Since 1993, Polly King’s family has lovingly preserved over 9,000 pieces of original artwork inside her home-turned-art gallery.
With the advent of the railway system in the United States, new jobs, people, and travel opportunities came to Niagara Falls, NY.
Historical fact, literary fiction, and artistic genuis come together in one awe-inspiring monument.
After standing sentry at an international bridge, and then in a toll collector's backyard, an old tollhouse was restored in 2011.
Fredrick Law Olmsted helped protect, preserve, and design the nation's first state park and preeminent tourist attraction.
In 1963, Otis Cowart helped lead a successful boycott for a local store known for its discriminatory hiring process.
A grassroots movement organized to save a high school and transform it into the largest muti-arts center in upsate New York.
The Shredded Wheat Company in Niagara Falls, NY hosted a suggrage convention in 1910 and touted "Votes for Women" in an ad campaign.
A catastrophic fire, a high school building and it's cornerstore and alumni center are forever linked in Niagara Falls, NY.
Two recent inventions—hydroelectricty and a breakfast cereal—come together in Niagara Falls, NY to form a near-century of success.
Farmers and women in Niagara Falls, NY help keep the City Market alive and flourishing for over 100 years.
In 1903, Italian immigrants founded a church that became an important religious, cultural, and social pillar in the community.
Determined to establish a Roman Catholic cemetery in Niagara Falls, NY, Father Billerio secretly stole a body from another cemetery.
In 1920, Italian immigrant Tomaso DiCamillo turned a basement enterprise into a baking empire in Niagara Falls, NY.
An immigrant dreams of owning his own
Italian restaurant and four generations of his family help keep that dream alive.
Known as a scholar and civil rights activist, a letter from Du Bois to his daughter reminds us that he was also a father and a poet.
W.E.B. Du Bois co-founded the Niagara Movement and wrote poetically about the Falls in a letter to his young daughter.
The Niagara Movement formed in 1905 when a group of African American men met near Niagara Falls, Onatrio to organize for civil rights.
Rev. Whitaker, pastor of new Hope Baptist Church in Niagara Falls, NY, was a prominent civil rights activist.
The NAACP chapter in Niagara Falls produced powerful leaders and social change during the local and national civil rights movement.
An early 20th century fire house is saved from demolition.
An award-winning facility is named after a woman who championed the rights of public housing residents for over forty-one years.
Fred Brown was an entrepreneur, community leader, and activist in a historically Black neighborhood in Niagara Falls, NY.
An all-purpose community center soon becomes the heart of the Black community in Niagara Falls, NY.
The story of an activist pastor, two bridges, three marches for racial justice, and community organizing in Niagara Falls, NY.
Huff was the pastor of a historic Black church as well as a community leader, activist, and local history maker in Niagara Falls, NY.
In 1882, Marcus Brown, a Jewish merchant, walked three miles in knee-deep snow to save Niagara University from foreclosure.
When a married couple volunteered to help clean up a state park in 2015, they had no idea what they would discover—or rather uncover.
Dr. King’s historic visit to Niagara Falls, NY inspired parishioners of New Hope Baptist Church and upcoming civil rights leaders.
What made a Catholic nun from Niagara Falls, NY become a gun-toting FBI Agent?
Living a century apart, two women bound by one Supreme Court case make history for themselves and the Cherokee Nation.
Born in Niagara County, NY Belva Lockwood was a feminist trailblazer in education, law, politics, and equal rights for women.
Born in Niagara County, NY Belva Lockwood was a feminist trailblazer in education, law, politics, and equal rights for women.
Born in Niagara County, NY Belva Lockwood was a feminist trailblazer in education, law, politics, and equal rights for women.
Lost since October 31, 1780, enthusiasts Jim Kennard and Dan Scoville discovered the sunken British warship, HMS Ontario.
Amid tales of shipwreck and buried treasure in the area known today as Golden Hill State Park, the real treasure is the park itself.
Thirty Mile Point Lighthouse was built in 1875 to warn mariners of a shallow sandbar that caused at least four historic shipwrecks.
Born into an influential family, Samuel Dett was the first b;ack postal worker in Niagara Falls, NY, and was a leader in the community.
Born in 1882, Dett was an incredibly gifted and internationally known concert pianist, composer, choral director, and poet.
Charlotte Dett was a trailblazer through her community leadership, activism, and involvement in the black woman's club movement.
For over 100 years, Temple Beth Israel in Niagara Falls, NY was a site of worship, community, and various events central to Judaism.
In the mid-19th century, debates over slavery divided families and neighbors in one of the oldest churches in Niagara Falls, NY.
St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Niagara Falls is known for its Gothic architecture and support of the abolition movement.
Two continents and decades apart, apparitions of and prayers to the Virgin Mary inspired Our Lady of Fatima Shrine in Youngstown, NY.
In the 1800s, Lavinia E. Porter was a pioneer in Niagara Falls, donating both her home and her land to an emerging village
St. John’s AME Church was a site of spiritual and community uplift, as well as civil rights activism.
In 1901, Polish immigrants organized to establish their own church in Niagara Falls; a century later parishioners fought to save it.
The Whitney-Trott house in Niagara Falls is steeped in history related to the Underground Railroad, commercial farming, and much more.
James F. Trott guided the development of the Cataract House, Underground Railroad, and the Niagara Falls public schools and libraries.
In Niagara Falls, the age of electricity led to the formation of, and backlash against, the ethnic neighborhood known as Tunnel Town.
A former planned utopian community near Niagara Falls, NY, is now plagued by the legacy of environmental contamination.
A woman's life was hard on the frontier when married to an American soldier during the War of 1812. It was hard, but some became heroes.
Echota was a town in Niagara Falls built in the 1890s, with beautiful homes designed for workers of the Niagara Falls Power Company.
When God told Isaiah Robertson that the world would end in 2014, he created one of the most dazzling houses in the city.
The Lockport Cave & Underground Boat Ride along the historic Erie Canal.
Although Murphy Orchards in Burt, New York might seem like a simple farm, it was once the site of Underground Railroad activity.
Launched in 1961, the Niagara Power Project is New York State’s biggest electricity producer and a major tourist attraction.
Historic Oakwood Cemetery is the final resting place for over 22,000 residents, both ordinary and extraordinary.
Nikola Tesla saw a photograph of Niagara Falls and dreamed about harnessing its power someday.
Aided by Harriet Tubman, Joe Bailey reached freedom in Canada after crossing the Suspension Bridge in Niagara Falls, NY.
In Oakwood Cemetery, Strangers’ Rest is the final resting place for some of Niagara Falls’ most famous residents and daredevils.
After WWI, Elizabeth Howe and her work at the International Institute in Niagara Falls were especially important to immigrant women.
Underground Railroad history comes alive in this story of Cecelia Jane Reynolds and the Cataract House in Niagara Falls.
Lockport, NY is home to the Historic Erie Canal “Flight of Five” Locks.
Lockport's Lock Tenders Tribute Monument recreates an iconic 1897 photograph.
William T. Love wanted to create hydroelectricity and a utopian community in Lewiston, NY. He left devastation behind instead.
In Niagara Falls, Celinda Whitney Trott is forever linked to two tourist destinations and the history of the Underground Railroad.
In 2011, a Niagara Falls historian finds an 1891 poem about a neglected gravesite and resolves to learn more about the woman’s life.
Bloneva Bond was a longtime community leader and civil rights activist in Niagara Falls.
In 2013, The Tuscarora Heroes Monument was unveiled in Lewiston, NY to honor those who saved countless lives during the War of 1812.