Niagara Land - The Geography
By Katheryne Thomas Whittemore, Ph.D.

TWO YEARS FROM THIS JULY, in 1976, we will observe the 200th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Already, in 1974, we are preparing for this Bicentennial. We are reading, seeing and hearing much about the events of that time, especially those pertaining to our own Niagara Land.

On east Amherst Street between Manhattan and Parkridge, we can examine the rock closely and actually feel the sharp edges of the flint which result when the stone is fractured.

To understand the history of this region, we need a background in physical and human geography. We must know the lie of the land, the pattern of landforms and water bodies, the characteristics of climate and soil, the plant and animal life and the mineral resources.

In addition, we must know something of the people, especially their stage of technical development. Only then can we appreciate the ways in which they coped with the problems set by the environment, responded to the advantages of the place and utilized the resources. Only then can we reconstruct the events and think of them as happening to people in a real place.

Niagara land is located entirely within the Lake Plains. These plains border Lake Erie and Lake Ontario and extend for several hundred miles east and west from the Niagara River.

The southern limit of Niagara Land is indefinite. South of the Lake Plains rises the Allegheny Upland, a region of considerable relief. Into the front of this upland, north-flowing streams have cut valleys through which run lines of communication connecting this area to the Niagara Frontier.

The surface of the Lake Plains is fairly level. Even from the air, they appear to be of low relief. However, details of the topography are varied and are of tremendous importance.

The Lake Plains decrease in altitude from about 800 feet at the base of the Allegheny Upland to about 350 feet at the level of Lake Ontario. This descent comes mainly in two giant steps. The risers of these steps are steep, north-facing slopes called escarpments. Although they vary from place to place in prominence, and sometimes are difficult to identify, these escarpments can actually be traced for hundreds of miles to the east and to the west.

The southernmost and lowest escarpment is the Onondaga. It is almost entirely obliterated by construction within the city of Buffalo, but can be identified at Kenmore Avenue and Main Street and along Main Street to the east. The northernmost escarpment -- the Niagara -- is more conspicuous. At Lewiston, its crest stands more than 200 feet above the Ontario Plain.

Contrary to popular belief, these escarpments were not caused by glaciation nor by the upthrust of rock strata. Instead they have been formed by the erosion of an old coastal plain. The rocks are sedimentaries -- limestone, sandstone and shale which were deposited in ancient seas millions of years ago. After the seas withdrew, wind and rain and running streams wore away much of the rock. Thick beds of resistant limestone acted as capstones to protect and maintain the cliff-like formations.

These escarpments, while not awe-inspiring features of great magnitude, are nonetheless of tremendous significance to the Niagara Frontier. Anyone concerned wide history, transportation, power, tourism or many other aspects of life here is sure to find the presence of the escarpments of great consequence. As individuals, whether we are conscious of it or not, the escarpments have played some part in our lives. As you read the remainder of the articles in this series, be sure to keep the escarpments in mind.

The effects of glaciation, however, cannot be ignored. Although some scouring and erosion took place as the ice sheet moved forward over the area, a more important effect here was from deposition. As the ice melted away, it left behind materials such as sand, gravel boulders and clay. In some places, these deposits formed ridges and clusters of low cliffs.

The Great Lakes did not exist before the glacial period. As the ice front melted back, the water collected in lakes that formed, spread, shrank and sometimes entirely disappeared. Rivers draining these lakes changed their courses with the position of the ice front and the stages of the lakes.

Geologists have traced the complicated history of post-glacial drainage by identifying clay and sand deposits, old beach lines and dry river channels. For example for several thousand years a lake lay between the Niagara and Onondaga. escarpments in a shallow basin now drained by Tonawanda Creek.

Following a sequence of drainage changes, the Niagara River established itself as a permanent stream. Draining the upper lakes, it flowed north, plunging over the Niagara Escarpment on its way to Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River. Thus, Niagara Falls was just formed about 6 miles north of its present location.

Before the coming of the Europeans, the Indians depended almost entirely upon their immediate environment not only for food and clothing but for tools, utensils, and weapons. Indians of the Niagara Frontier did not have the skill and knowledge to use many of the mineral resources which we consider important today -- among these, petroleum, natural gas and gypsum. Nor could they use building stone and sand and gravel, materials which later became of great value.

Among the resources which they did use was stone both from the bedrock and from the glacial deposits. Tomahawks, grinding stones hammers and weights for fishing nets were some of the uses essential for their existence.

Buffalonians should be especially interested in the use of flint for arrowheads and sharp points for other tools and weapons because they can easily identify the dark nodules of flint in the gray Onondaga. limestone in several places in the area. On east Amherst Street between Manhattan and Parkridge, we can examine the rock closely and actually feel the sharp edges of the flint which result when the stone is fractured.

Actually the Iroquois showed great inventiveness in putting together, from resources available to them, a comparatively comfortable life. The forests that covered the area supplied them with a variety of useful materials. They were hardwood forests, with maples, elms, beeches oaks and hickories the dominant trees, with a wealth of lower shrubs and herbaceous plants flowering in the spring before the leaves shaded the forest floor.

From the fish, birds and forest animals they obtained not only food and clothing but such things as bones and thongs for tools and utensils. Soil and climate favored the sowing of corn, beans and squash. Potable water was close at hand.

The Indian tribes traded with each other to supplement the products they could supply from their immediate environments With the coming the Europeans to the continent, Iroquois, as well as the other Indians, began to acquire products of European manufacture.

The strategic importance of the mouth of the Niagara River is immediately evident. LaSalle's flimsy Fort Conti and, later, Fort Niagara were built on a point of land that jutted west.

By the time of the Revolution the life of the Iroquois was greatly enhanced -- the bow and arrow had given way to the musket, the stone tomahawk to the steel tomahawk

The Iroquois were inveterate and expert traders. The position they held as middlemen gave them power in their relationships with other tribes and with the Dutch, the English, the French and the Colonists. To appreciate the strength of their position along the Niagara Frontier, we must examine the location of this area in relation to the routes of travel and trade. In fact, the history of Niagara Land preceding and during the Revolutionary years is, to a large extent, the direct result of its strategic location in relation to routes of economic, political, and military importance.

Two hundred years ago, most of the activity in Niagara Land took place in a narrow strip along the Niagara River. Before that, for nearly a century, this Niagara Corridor had been an important link in the St. Lawrence - Great Lakes route from the Atlantic Ocean to the center of the continent. Indians, explorers, traders. soldiers and missionaries moved trade goods, furs, supplies and equipment along this difficult water-land route.

From the northeast corner of Lake Erie, the Niagara flows generally northward carrying to Lake Ontario the waters of the upper lakes -- Erie, Huron, Michigan and Superior. In about 30 miles, the river descends approximately 326 feet, most of this in the eight turbulent miles that include the upper rapids, the falls and the rapids in the gorge below. The portage necessary to bypass this unnavigable stretch was one of great length and tremendous difficulty.

While we attempt to place the historic events in their actual setting we can keep the Niagara River much as we now know it, but mentally block out bridges, buildings and crowds and tune out sounds of traffic and industry.

The greatest difficulty in traversing this land-water route through the Niagara Corridor was in going upstream from Lake Ontario to Lake Erie. This is the direction we will follow as we examine the route in greater detail.

The strategic importance of the mouth of the Niagara River is immediately evident. LaSalle's flimsy Fort Conti and, later, Fort Niagara were built on a point of land that jutted west. This location commanded the waterway from three sides and any vessel slowly making, its way up against the wind and current was under direct scrutiny as it swung around into the river.

For approximately seven miles from this point, the river was navigable not only for canoes and bateaux but for the sailing vessels of that day. As these craft made their way up the river, the men saw ahead of them the steep face of the Niagara Escarpment and encountered the rush of water from the gorge. Unloading their cargoes on the east bank of the river, they began the arduous portage. Goods, and even canoes were laboriously carried up on the backs of men until the English built an incline tramway from the rivers edge to the top of the cliff.

Near this end of the portage, Joncaire built a trading post called Magazin Royal. The exact location of this trading post, the landing places, the tramway and other historic spots have been lost during recent construction projects.

From the top of the escarpment, the portage continued on a long but fairly level path leading to a point on the Niagara River above the upper rapids. At this strategic spot, the French built Little Fort Niagara and later the English constructed Fort Schlosser.

This portage route cut off the great bend in the river. No doubt many, if not most, of the men using the portage heard the falls but did not see them. Probably the falls never looked as shown by Hennepin in his sketch. but we do know that in 1764 the crest was a gentle curve rather than the deep horseshoe of today and about 400 feet farther downstream.

From the upper end of the portage, the Niagara River was navigable although upstream passage was against both the current and the prevailing wind. Bateaux and sailing vessels frequently were towed for much of the distance to Lake Erie.

Other problems in navigation occurred at Lake Erie near the source of the river. An outcrop of Onondaga. limestone crosses the river here, resulting in reefs, shallows and winding channels. Also, the current is swifter at that point than at any other place above the upper rapids.

The use of the Niagara Corridor increased when it came under England's control. The movement of supplies and equipment to trading posts continued. Added to this was the military activity during the last years of the struggle with France and afterward in the protection of the frontier from restless Indians like Pontiac and his followers.

Because of the increased traffic, the need for craftsmen and laborers developed and some settlers came to the trading posts and forts. While no battles were fought along the Niagara Frontier during the Revolutionary War, Loyalists and Indian refugees added to the population of the area. In addition to the shorter portage on the east side of the Niagara, which we have already described, the longer portage on the west side was developed

In order to understand fully the significance of the Niagara Corridor as a transportation route, we must examine its place in the St. Lawrence-Great Lakes route of which it was such a valuable link. The earliest route to the west followed by the French explorers, missionaries and traders led them from the St. Lawrence to the Ottawa River across a portage to streams and lakes that flowed into Georgian Bay. This was a difficult route to the upper lakes with many portages, but it was more direct and avoided the territory of the hostile Iroquois. With the opening of trading posts and the building of forts along the lower lakes, the Ohio and Mississippi rivers the Niagara Corridor came into fuller use.

Because Western New Yorkers are today so firmly oriented toward Albany, we have to remind ourselves that the expansion from the Hudson westward was slow, held back by the powerful Iroquois. Avid traders, the Iroquois jealously guarded their position as middlemen between the Colonists and the fur-collecting Indians of the West.

The Mohawk-Oswego route between the Hudson and Lake Ontario presented problems of rapids and shallow water but no worse than those of navigation on the St. Lawrence. From the mouth of the Oswego, the route ran through Lake Ontario to the Niagara Corridor. Along this way came the English forces that took possession of Fort Niagara in 1759.

During the period that the English held both sides of the Niagara River the area was beginning to show signs of its potential as more than a transportation route. In order to utilize the power of the river, John Stedman "master of the portage" reconstructed and enlarged along the side of the upper rapids a short canal and waterwheel which had originally been built by the French. He also planted an orchard and some crops as did other settlers along the river.

During the next few years, we will review the romantic and dramatic incidents in the history of Niagara Land, seeking out the spots associated with our particular heritage.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Dr. Katheryne Whittemore is a professor emerita, never retired from the faculty of Buffalo State College. She is an geographer and the author of a popular fifth grade textbook on the geography of the U S and Canada. several other books and numerous articles relating to her field.

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