All Blog Posts in "Niagara County"
The Old Poor House on Poor House Hill
July 20, 2017
Abandoned History A Visit To The Old Poor House Cemetery By James Boles,Ed.D. J.Boles 2017 “Here lie the residents of the Niagara County Almshouse who were laid to rest between 1929 and 1916” - an inscription on the poorhouse cemetery bench. Donated by Orleans Monument Company, Lockport NY. J.Boles 2017 The only marked stone in the cemetery. Reconstructed and donated by Orleans Monument Company. The poor house cemetery, which was not kept up for a number of years, is now nicely maintained …
Lockport Mineral Spring Mystery
February 6, 2013
By Dr. James M. Boles and Melissa Royer, Contributors Because Niagara County has the notable Niagara Escarpment running along its width—east to west—there were, and still are, many natural springs as the ground water eventually flows north to Lake Ontario. Research and reading about mineral springs in the eastern United States shows a pattern of discovery by early travelers and settlers and their reports often mention the local Native Americans using the springs for medicinal purposes. A sprin…
Grave Puzzles
August 21, 2012
By Dr. James M. Boles, Contributor The sheriff waved to me as I made a sharp right turn into the field, the right of way was overgrown and hard to follow. The car rolled past the old silo and the stone barn foundation which was covered with vines and scrub brush. In this jungle, Dave and his crew from People Inc. did a great job cleaning up the old Niagara County Poorhouse cemetery (1829-1915) which opens up into a small clearing. The accounts list up to 1400 people buried here but I was here t…
The Niagara County Almshouse Cemetery
June 22, 2012
By David Mack-Hardiman, Contributor Surrounded by a thorny thicket of nearly impenetrable foliage, the Niagara County Almshouse Cemetery sits on a remote hill in Lockport, NY. Here lie the remains of approximately 1,400 people who lived and died at the almshouse from 1830 until 1916. As one walks up the path to approach the cemetery, songbirds chatter in the treetops. Densely overgrown bristly shrubs sit to the left of the path while an open grassy field is on the right. The taller treed area o…
Dr. Platt H. Skinner - Early Educator, Advocate, and Abolitionist
February 2, 2012
By Reid Dunlavey, Contributor Dr. Platt Henry Skinner. Photo courtesy of Gallaudet University
Conducting research on forgotten events and people that have impacted disability history can be difficult and at the same time very rewarding. This is the case in regards to a little known educator named Platt H. Skinner. In 1858 Skinner opened his “School for the Instruction of the Colored Deaf, Dumb and Blind” in what is today Niagara Falls, New York near the Suspension Bridge that crossed the bo…
Did you know...
November 2, 2011
By Melissa Royer, Contributor In my quest for information regarding helping services of the past, I have learned many interesting facts relevant to disability history in New York that fuel my interest and pursuit of knowledge in long forgotten days. Did you know… …The first New York State School for people with intellectual and cognitive disabilities was opened in Albany, N.Y. at the former “Bulls Head Tavern.” The year was 1851 and it was known as the Idiot Asylum or the Asylum for Idiots. S…