Niagara County 457 



During tho early years of the Revolution, Colonel John 

 Butler, who commanded the English and Tories at Niagara, 

 made La Salle the headquarters of his famous marauding parties. 



The land in this county was all included in the Holland 

 purchase, except the small reservations of the Tonawanda and 

 Tuscarora Indians and a strip one mile in width along Niagara 

 River reserved by the state for the purposes of a portage road 

 around Niagara Falls. The first settlements were made about 

 the beginning of the nineteenth century and the growth of the 

 whole country was rapid, especially after the completion of the 

 Erie Canal in 1825 and the subsequent construction of railroads. 



In 1837 there was great excitement connected with the so- 

 called Patriot War. The American sympathizers, who were 

 collected on Navy Island, a British possession just above the 

 rapids, were transported from Schlosser on the steamer Caroline. 

 On the night of December 29, a British force cut the steamboat 

 from her moorings, set her on fire, and floated her over the falls. 

 A diplomatic controversy followed, seriously hindering progress 

 in the county for some time. 



The Tuscarora Indian Reservation occupies a portion of the 

 western part of the county and the Tonawanda Reservation 

 extends into the southeastern part. 



DEVELOPMENT OF INDUSTRY 



Although grain was produced abundantly from the first, no 

 markets were then established at which it could be converted 

 into money. As a consequence, many of the pioneers resorted 

 to the manufacture and sale of potash, w T hich brought money 

 into the country, and aided in the clearing of land. The con- 

 struction of sawmills and the business of lumbering also occupied 

 considerable attention. Additional revenue was obtained from 

 the production of cranberries. 



Apples and peaches were the principal fruits grown for many 

 years, and in the time of Queen Elizabeth fruit was sent direct 

 from Niagara County for her family use. The largest orchards 

 planted in early times were on the Niagara River below Lewis- 

 ton, on the shore of Lake Ontario, and about Lockport. Of 

 these, probably the largest orchard planted was set out in 1817 — 

 an orchard of about 700 trees — within the present limits of 



