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Frontier 3



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Geography is not an indoor sport! Get out and explore New York State!

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Buffalo Granary

1. Granaries on Buffalo Creek: Buffalo's position at the end of Lake Erie and the western terminus of the Erie Canal, made it a very important grain storage and milling center, It was here that the modern grain elevators were invented.


Buffalo Conservatory

1. Buffalo Conservatory: Located in Lackawanna, home to abandoned steel factories, is the Conservatory at South Park, which was designed by Frederick Olmstead. A great time to visit is during their spring bulb display.

Ralph Wilson Stadium

2. "The Ralph": Named after the only owner the Bills have ever had. This is where you find much of Western New York on a Sunday afternoon in the fall.



 Grapes

3. Lake Erie Vinyards: This is one of New York's several wine regions. Mild temperatures on Lake Erie's south shore help keep certain varieties of grapes alive and fragrant. Nearby is the Chautauqua Institute (see the description on the right).




Firing a Musket

4. Lucy-Desi Museum: Jamestown is on the south end of Chautauqua Lake. It was the childhood home of Lucille Ball, and proud citizens of the city celebrate her life at this museum.



McClew Hideout

5. Allegany St. Park: Wedged between the Allegheny River and the Pennsylvania border, the large park is the only place in the state not to be glaciated. Surrounding the park is the Allegheny Seneca Indian Reservation (see description on the right).





Roycroft

6. Roycroft Inn: The community founded by Elbert Hubbard has disbanded, but the building remain, including this beautiful inn and restaurant. The tulip windows are a Roycroft trademark.






Niagara Frontier Part Three: 

Beyond Buffalo

What You Should See...

Side Trip! Take Delaware Avenue (Rte. 384) out of Buffalo. You will pass by some very nice mansions from the late 1800's. This is where the upper class lived during Buffalo's glory days. You will pass by Delaware Park, designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, of Central Park fame. In fact, he designed three parks around Buffalo. This was the site of the Pan-American Exhibition in 1901, when Buffalo showcased herself as the first Electric City. (And why would she have that distinction?).
Unfortunately, President William McKinley was assassinated during a visit, and he died a few days later. Theodore Roosevelt was sworn in, here in Buffalo, at that time. Many Buffalonians will tell you that the city never really recovered from that shock. But let's not get overdramatic. The park still boasts a high-quality zoo, and just outside the park is the Albright-Knox Museum of Art, one of the best in the country.

As you travel north, you will pass through the working-class towns of Tonawanda and North Tonawanda, separated, logically by Tonawanda Creek, part of the Erie Canal system. Just a few blocks north of the bridge, look for Thompson Street. Turn right, and make a stop at the Herschell Carrousel Museum (see photo above).  At this location the world's first modern amusement rides were produced. In fact, this was the epicenter of the industry. The factories are gone now, but they have a very nice display of the craftsmanship that went into building merry-go-rounds. You can ride a restored carrousel, at the breathtaking speed of 6.5 mph! And since this is Western New York, the music of choice is a polka.


1. This part of the journey is south and east of Buffalo, so if you don't have time to make the detour to North Tonawanda, take Route 5 over the Skyway south. Look carefully and you will see the granaries along the Buffalo River. If you have time, you can view them up close from Michigan or Ohio Streets (as pictured to the left). This area has many impressive examples, some are vacant, others are still in use, such as the General Mills plant, which makes Honeynut Cheerios. At one time the Buffalo River was very polluted. In fact, it has the dubious distinction as being one of two rivers that actually caught on fire (the other is the Cuyahoga in Cleveland). But the river has made a recovery of sorts. It is not uncommon to see fishing from the banks, although I don't recommend eating anything from the river just yet.

QUESTION: What does Buffalo's geographic location have to do with the granaries being located here. Hints: Where does the grain come from? How did it get here? How can it be shipped out of here?

2. You will pass through Lackawanna, just south of Buffalo. It once was the home of Bethlehem Steel, but the factories are all closed now. Geography explains why the steel plants were located here, with the coal fields of Appalachia to the south and the iron ore of the upper Great Lakes just a boat trip away. But other factors took away this advantage, so steelmaking is now just part of Lackawanna's past. 

On a more positive note, if you drive further out to Orchard Park, you will find the real cultural heart of Western New York - Ralph Wilson Stadium, home to the Buffalo Bills. This is the only NFL (football) stadium in the State of New York. (Remember that both the Giants and the Jets play in the New Jersey Meadowlands).  The Bills have come to symbolize Buffalo to the rest of America, a team that almost made it to the "big time", but they never quite reached the top. In the nineties, they lost four consecutive Super Bowls. Even so, the people of Niagara Country are passionate about their team. 

QUESTION: Why is the stadium located here? There are advantages of placing a large sports venue in the suburbs, but why south of Buffalo? Why not east of Buffalo (i.e. around Batavia, for example)? The team estimates around 25% of the fans come from the Rochester metro area.

3. If you get on the Thruway (or better yet, NY Route 5), heading south, you will parallel Lake Erie. Since you are on the lee side of the lake, you are in a microclimate, with slightly milder temperatures and heavy lake effect snows. These conditions (similar to those along Lake Ontario's south shore - see the Seaway section) make this ideal grape country. Vineyards stretch all along this section of the coast. One common variety grown here is the Niagara grape, which makes a great fruity wine. This is one of four New York wine regions. The other three are found in the Finger Lakes, the Hudson Valley, and on Long Island.

When you get to Westport, head south on Rte. 394. Soon you will see the shoreline of Chautauqua Lake, home to one of the great cultural icons of the world, the Chautauqua Institute. Since the 19th century people of all classes have come here to learn about theater, dance, literature, and much more. During its summer season, it is practically a self-sustaining community, fenced off from the rest of New York. But even if you come off-season, it is a fascinating place to explore.

QUESTION: What attracts people to places like Chautauqua? What other places have you been that inspire your "cultural" side?
On the south end of the lake lies the city of Jamestown, most famous as the home town of Lucille Ball. During the I Love Lucy run in the 50's, they often mentioned this small town. And Jamestown has not missed to opportunity to promote itself, so there is a museum dedicated to Desi and Lucy in the downtown district. If you want to buy anything (and I do mean anything) about the first couple of television, there is a shop next to museum that will stun you.

5. Travel east from Jamestown on the Southern Tier Expressway (I-86, NY Rte. 17). The term Southern Tier denotes a geographic region, generally referring to those counties that border Pennsylvania. In a way, they are part of another borderland. Anyway, you are entering a special section of New York State, the only part that was not glaciated in the Ice Age. It is also the only section that is part of the Ohio-Mississippi watershed. Most of this outpost is inside Allegany State Park. And surrounding the park is the Allegheny River and Allegheny Seneca Indian Reservation.
Have you noticed the disagreement in spelling? New York uses the former, and Pennsylvania the latter. There is a County of Allegany (part of the Genesee Valley) and a  Village of Allegany (which is in Cattaraugus County, the home of St. Bonaventure University). The river and the reservation use the Pennsylvanian spelling. 

The park is one of New York's gems, but it looks out-of-place to the practiced eye. Since it was not glaciated, the hills are more angular than anywhere else in the Empire State. There are no troughs, no drumlins, no Finger Lakes here. The landscape of Allegany gives us a clue to what the rest of Western New York might have looked like before the Ice Ages.

The Seneca people live on a reservation (which they consider as their sovereign territory) that straddles the river. This the home to one of New York's most assertive native peoples. They have strongly resisted the attempt by Albany to tax gasoline and cigarettes on their land. The city of Salamanca, mostly non-Indian, is inside the reservation. They recently negotiated a treaty by which the residents of Salamanca pay them rent for the privilege of living there. This situation is unique in the United States. But they also have a sad history. When the Kinzua Dam was built in Pennsylvania, the resulting reservoir flooded over a significant part of their territory. This still traumatizes the Seneca, and there is still much bitterness over this violation of their land.

QUESTION: Visit the Seneca-Iroquois National Museum on the western edge of Salamanca.  As you look at the exhibit, try to see this proud nation with the eyes of a geographer. What does the term "nation" actually mean? It is not synonymous with "country." Do the exhibits here help you to illustrate the differences?

6. Get back on the Southern Tier Expressway (I-86). Travel east to Olean, which derives its name from the Latin word for oil (oleum). This was a transfer point for Pennsylvania petroleum to the railroads leading east to the coast. Like other Southern Tier communities, the economy of Olean is intertwined with the Keystone State just a few miles to the south.
For an interesting side tour, take Route 16 south to visit the tourist attraction, Rock City Park. It is a maze of huge rock pieces that migrated down the hill over time. They are composed of a rock called conglomerate, formed from pebbles and sand when this part of America was at the bottom of a shallow sea. The rocks are some of the youngest in the state.

6. Retrace your steps on Route 16, through Olean, going north toward Buffalo again. For much of the drive, you will find yourself at the bottom of a trough, a sure sign that you are back in glaciated country. When you reach the intersection of Rte. 20A, you enter the village of East Aurora. This has several interesting sites to visit. First, there is President Millard Fillmore's modest home. Fisher-Price has a complex here, complete with a Toy Museum and factory store. Vidmer's General Store is another major attraction. But East Aurora is most commonly associated with the Roycroft community of artisans that lived here in the late-1800's and the early 20th century. The leader of this group was Elbert Hubbard, who started the community as a publisher of inspirational pamphlets and magazines. His most famous piece was Message to Garcia. The group grew to include furniture makers, leatherworkers, bookbinding. A hotel was built to accomodate the visitors to this vibrant community. Hubbard and his wife were among the casualties in the sinking of Lusitania during World War I. Without his leadership, the community slowly disintegrated.
But, the complex is still there in the middle of the village. There is a museum, speciality shops, and the elegant Roycroft Inn.

QUESTION: Special communities like Roycroft were fairly common in the 19th century. The Shakers made their home in eastern New York and New England. The Oneida Community, famed for their silverware, lived near Rome, NY. What factors made people choose to form their own semi-isolated societies? Why did these communities eventually fall apart in "modern times?"





Now that the tour of the Niagara Frontier is finished, we recommend that you move on to the Genesee Valley or the Finger Lakes.
Click on the links below to take you there!


  Finger Lakes Glen


  Lilac Festival
Finger Lakes
Genesee




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