Deveaux School Historic District, Niagara Falls, New York

While home for Easter, I decided to check out this historical sight in Niagara Falls, New York. What brought my attention to this area was the local newspaper. The Niagara Gazette have had some articles running about a carriage house dated to the Civil War.

This property was deeded to Judge Samuel DeVeaux in the mid 1850's as the Deveau College for Orphans and Destitute Children. Samuel DeVeaux was a large contributor to the Lockport and Niagara Railroads, and was instrumental in the construction of the Whirlpool Bridge. His business dealings resulted in a vast land purchase along the Niagara River, that still beares his name. The judge died in 1852.
For nearly 80 years, the course work at this school included military like drills and students dressed in uniforms that resembled West Point. The last day of military influence on the campus was in 1950.
Buildings on the property at one time included Van Rensselaer Hall, Monro Hall, Schoellkopf Hall, Edgewood, the Walker Residence, the Buscaglia-Castellani Art Gallery, a carriage house, boiler house and three residential homes. The 51-acre site grew to encompass a campus of nearly a dozen buildings and residences.
DeVeaux College fell on hard times as the demand for prep-school education continued to decline in the 20th century and the Episcopal Diocese ceased operations at the school and, in 1971, looked to another organization to accept the burden of taking care of the historic structures. Subsequent property owners or lessees include Niagara County, Niagara Falls, Niagara University, Board of Cooperative Educational Services, Niagara County Community College and currently New York State Office of Parks Recreation and Historic Preservation who christened the property DeVeaux Woods State Park.

The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.

The Niagara Gazette has been publishing articles in relation to this area.
They are about an old Civil War Era Carriage House; the city would like to demolish this historic building. WHY? Its listed as a Historical Sight...




Please Read the following Link.







http://niagara-gazette.com/local/x7460654/State-delays-plans-to-demolish-Carriage-House

The "Old" Erie Canal, Lock 52, Port Byron, New York

While driving back to Connecticut today, I decided to stop at a historical sight along the interstate. This location is located near the Port Byron rest area going East on I-90. I have pasted this area several times, and never stopped...Shame on me! This location is dated 1851, and was an old lock in The Erie Canal.
The Erie Canal is a waterway that extends from Buffalo, New York at Lake Erie to Albany, New York at The Hudson River. Continuing, down the Hudson River to New York and out to the Atlantic. This waterway is 363 miles total, and has 36 locks in the waterway. Construction began on the canal in 1817 and completed in 1825. The canal opened on October 26, 1825. At that time, the canal was technological marvel. The canal fostered a population surge in western New York state, opened regions farther west to settlement, and helped New York City become the chief U.S. port. It was enlarged between 1834 and 1862. In 1918, the enlarged canal was replaced by the larger New York State Barge Canal.
Erie Canal Lock 52 Complex is a national historic district located at Port Byron and Mentz in Cayuga County, New York. The district includes two contributing buildings (the Erie House and the blacksmith shop / mule barn); three contributing engineering structures (Erie Canal Lock 52, culvert, and canal prism of the enlarged Erie Canal); and archaeological sites associated with the canal operations. Lock 52 was constructed 1849-1853 as part of the Enlarged Erie Canal program. It remained in operation until the rerouting of the canal under the New York State Barge Canal System in 1918.

Listed on the National Register of Historical Places in 1998

Please, read more at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erie_Canal


Check out this video that I stumpled upon on Youtube...it puts it into perspective on how Lock 52 looked like.