Niagara History Center

10/16/2026

Join us at the Erie Canal Discovery Center on Saturday October 24th at 1:00pm for a free special live podcast recording session featuring the

Paul Ryan, Terry Morris & Mark Schmeller are three curious minds with a shared obsession with the strange, surprising, and hugely influential history of the Erie Canal. Their podcast is part serious history and part spirited conversation, with plenty of obscure facts, unexpected detours, and the occasional friendly disagreement along the way.

See them live for free next Saturday at ECDC – 24 Church St. Lockport, NY 14094

10/15/2026

There is still time to register for our Haunted History Tours on Friday night, October 16th, at 6 and 7:30 p.m. Please see all of the details below:

10/14/2026

Broda Machine Company was founded in 1935 by brothers Martin and Walter Broda as a coat hanger manufacturer in a garage in Niagara Falls. Their first location was on Pierce Avenue and a few years later they moved to 2103 Mackenna Avenue in that city, where this photo was taken. In the 1940s, the company began building parts for the local defense industry plants (Bell, Curtis-Wright, etc.) This photo is undated but must be before 1968 as the business relocated to Pine and Packard Road that year. Today, the company is now led by Thomas J. Broda and they make specialty and custom-made parts for a variety of local and national businesses.

Not much could be found on Mid-Atlantic Industrial Consultants. They were founded in 1955 and acquired the Knowles Foundry on Mackenna Avenue that same year. There is nothing about the company in the newspapers past 1958, but this photo is clearly from the 1960s, so they may still have been in business at that time.

10/13/2026

We had a great time last Friday night with the Niagara History Center's inaugural ghost tours exploring the darker side of Lockport's history (what we don't tell the 4th graders!). If you missed the tour last week, join us this Friday, October 16th, at either 6 or 7:30 p.m. learn these lesser known stories of our city's past.

We ask that you pre-register using the QR code below or at bit.ly/NHCHauntedHistory. There is a $10 fee per person for the tour. Walk-ins will be welcome if we are not at capacity for the tour.

10/12/2026

As we celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day, we look at one of the many pieces of Haudenosaunee beadwork in the History Center’s collection. Most likely, this piece is Tuscarora, as their territory is closest to Niagara Falls, and Tuscarora beaders have been selling their work at the falls since the early 1800s.
In recognition of the Tuscarora’s alliance with the US during the War of 1812, Peter B. Porter, who controlled the lands surrounding the falls, gave them perpetual rights to sell their work there.
During the Victorian era, the three dimensional style referred to as raised beadwork became the standard for Haudenosaunee people. This particular piece is a pincushion with a bird sitting on top of a floral design on one side, and two long leaves with the words “From Niagara Falls” on the other. Thousands of Niagara Falls adorned beadwork pieces were sold, and continue to be sold by contemporary beaders today. Several historical pieces are on display at the History Center, which is open Monday-Saturday (excluding holidays) from 9-5.
Pincushion Accession no. 2017.043.001

10/11/2026

735 Market St. in Lockport has had many owners and events over the years since its building in about 1850. It is unclear who built it, as several names are associated with the property in the 1850s & 60s. By the 1870s, the name with the house in John Craine. He was born on the Isle of Man in 1817 and was in Lockport by 1840. He married Laura Sherman in 1841. Craine was a tailor, his brother William came here to apprentice under him that same year. They worked together for 17 years, then Craine left the business to start a nursery. In the 1856 Lockport Directory, he was listed as a nurseryman at 17 Garden St. William, who married Laura Sherman’s sister, continued the business until 1874, then opened a dry goods store on Market St. In about 1868-69, John Craine purchased or leased the property at 735 Market St. near the Erie Canal area known as “widewaters.” He continued to live on Garden Street until 1871 when he moved his residence and business to Market St.

The home style is Italian Villa, which was popular in the U. S. from 1850s to 1880s; but it may have been an older house which Craine modified. His business consisted mostly of fruits and vegetables and was always termed a nursery rather than a truck farm. He was known particularly for his grapes. He won premiums at the Niagara County Fair for his produce and either entered, or judged, the “Foreign Fruit” category for many years.

The Craines had six children, two sons and four daughters, but only one grandchild. John Craine operated his very successful nursery business on Market St. until his death in 1889 at age 72. His daughter, Bertha, was the last of the family to live in the house. She sold the property in 1929 to Anthony Villella, who operated a nursery and produce farm there into the 1970s.

In the 1980s, the property was purchased by actor and author, Geoffrey Giuliano, biographer of Paul McCartney and John Lennon, who turned the home into a tribute to the Beatles and 1960s & 70s rock music. He kept cows in the yard and built a Hindu dome atop the tower. He left Lockport about 15 years ago and the property has been sold twice since then. It is currently a private residence.

10/10/2026

10/10/2026

The stone house at 453 Market Street was built by Gilbert Peterson c.1855. Peterson (pictured) was a canal and general building contractor as well as a mayor of Lockport. He died in 1890 and the home was inherited by his son Charles, who was also a mayor of Lockport, from 1896 to 1897. Charles was the brother of Jesse Peterson, founder and president of Indurated Fibre.

The Lowertown Food Market operated at 453 Market Street from 1945 to c.1973. The market was owned by Anthony Schiavitti and stood in front of the former Peterson home. Schiavitti had the store until his death in 1963. It was later acquired by Jack Reid who had hoped to turn it into a community center but the structure was removed from the building when there were plans for Market Street’s redevelopment that never materialized. The house is now a multi-family home with three apartments. A stone hitching post can still be seen in front of the property.

The first photo of the house is undated. The image of Gilbert Peterson is from the 1902 Souvenir History of Niagara County published the Niagara County Pioneer Association. The photo of the Lowertown Food Market is c.1940s and the last photo was taken in 2011. Unfortunately, Facebook has cropped that one rather poorly.

10/09/2026

Back in April, there was a post about the Hawley Street School, but these photos of the fire were recently found. The brick school was built in 1871 at the corner of Caledonia Street. It served that part of the city until 1940 when students began attending North Park School (then an elementary school). Anna Merritt School opened in 1959 bringing the students back to that neighborhood. After it closed, the old Hawley Street School was used for many purposes including county offices during the 1940s and the New York State Armory in the 1950s. It briefly served as a school again in 1949 after a fire at St. Patrick’s Catholic School forced that building to close. In the 1980s, the A. & A. Beauty School operated out of there. A fire caused extensive damage and the building was torn down in 1988. These photos show an early 20th century post of the school and then after the building was destroyed by the fire. A church now occupies the site of the old school.

10/08/2026

Just a reminder that there are still spaces left in the Niagara History Center's Haunted History Tours on Friday, October 9th and Friday, October 16th. Please see all of the information for registering in the flyer below: