At 215 Niagara Street, within walking distance and northwest from the downtown Canal District, the Niagara County Historical Society complex deals mainly with Niagara County history. Open Thursday through Sundays, afternoons, 1:00 - 5:00 P.M. Telephone (716) 434-7433. Hours may be reduced during winter. Admission is free but donations are appreciated. The Society now has underway a fundraising effort to finance its on-going expansion. Melissa Dunlap is the Society's Executive Director.
Depending on your interest level, it can take as much as an entire afternoon to tour and appreciate the exhibits. Several buildings deal with various topics. Included are:
Outwater Memorial Building.
Serves as the Society's Headquarters and is where you enter the complex (admission is
free). Houses a well-stocked gift shop. Displays include toys and products of area
business, a Victorian parlor, old-time medical memorabilia, and a Civil War Room. There
are also changing exhibits. Included here are old city directories and area informations
of interest to those tracing ancestors and properties in the area. Open Thursday through
Sunday, 1-5 p.m. Telephone (716) 434-7433. In winter or during holiday
periods, hours may be reduced. Call ahead if in doubt.
Operates out of the Historical Society building at 215 Niagara Street on the second floor. The Niagara County Genealogical Society, a non-profit organization, was organized in January 1979 by a few dedicated people interested in seeking, preserving, and sharing the information about this area's people...past and present. Membership is open to all for $13/year on a January-December calendar year basis. As of June 2003 they claim about 335 active members from across the United States and Canada.
The research library has approximately 1600 books including cemetery records, census records, genealogies, city directories, DAR books, maps and atlases. Although much of their library holdings concern Niagara County, they also have material from other New York counties, New England, Pennsylvania and Ontario, Canada. They have numerous periodicals such as Connecticut Nutmegger, NEHGS Register, Central New York Genealogical Society's Tree Talks, American Genealogist, etc. The Library is open on Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 1 PM until 5 PM. Potential visitors should call ahead to make sure a librarian is on duty. Telephone 716-433-1033.
The NCGS has a "Look-Up" program which is a service and benefit of membership. However, all people using this service must be members! Now included in the price of membership ($13) is a 30-minute Look-up in the NCGS Library, or an Obit Look-up in the Niagara Falls or Lockport Public Library. Following new and existing members initial look-up, these services can then be purchased for $10 in NCGS Library and obits (from public libraries) will cost $6. All look-ups and obit will be handled in the order they are received, with preference being given initially to existing members. Contact NCGS for further details. The Society can be contacted via e-mail at: genealogy@niagaracounty.org. They do not do telephone research. Their mailing address is: NCGS, 215 Niagara Street, Lockport, NY 14094. Telephone (hours open, see above) 716-433-1033. Please do not ask the Lockport Home Page to do genealogy research for you.
Pioneer and Transportation Building includes the first car (1954 Pontiac) air conditioned with Harrison products by General Motors and the 1923 "Junior R," a locally produced "aluminum automobile." Many 19th century transportation items plus pioneer items and representations of early Indian life in the area.
Fire House houses a collection of two fire pumpers (c. 1840) along with antique fire-fighting tools. A fire telegraph system is another featured display.
The Yates Farm Barn includes a collection of antique farm tools and equipment used in this area. Includes a blacksmith display along with cobbler's and cooper's tools. There are old sleighs and buggies. Even a horse-drawn hearse. The structure is named after the late Raymond Yates, a leader in the Historical Society's formation and a well-known local author.
Washington Hunt Building. This 1835 brick building used to house the Albany Land Company which sold land in this area and served as the law office of Washington Hunt, Governor of New York State from 1851-1852. Land survey items and personal articles of Gov. Hunt are on display. The building was moved to this location from Lockport's "Lowertown."
Colonel William Bond House. Is a short distance away from the main complex (5 minute stroll)at 143 Ontario Street. This National Register pre-Victorian home was the first brick house built in Lockport in 1824. Volunteer guides show you through this 12-room museum, restored to illustrate Lockport living in the mid 1800's.
The Hille House. This Victorian house just opened in May 1999. It now houses several Lockport and Niagara County business and industrial history exhibits with more to come. Included is an old-fashioned doctor's office and medical artifacts from the 1920's.
The Outwater
Memorial Building (circa 1864) is the main building for the Niagara County Historical
Society. This is where the Society's museum operations began. It was the former home
of Dr. Samuel Outwater, a longtime
Lockport physician. Donations to the Society by Dr. Outwater included his home and
money when he retired to California. His donations made the establishment of the
museum possible.
Pictured is the Secretary desk and book storage furnishing from Dr. Outwater's home. Books inside are Dr. Outwater's original volumes on topics from medicine to the arts.
Dr. Outwater's library is included in the "Victorian Music Room," one the the main exhibits at the museum. The period is the 1860's. Included in the parlor setting are numerous pieces collected from the Lockport area of that era: musical instruments, furnishings, fashions, scientific items, framed oil paintings, and documentation.
Other rooms of interest in this building not pictured are a rotating exhibit room, a toy room, a meeting room for presentations to groups, and exhibits featuring Niagara County industry.
A self-paced tour of the Outwater Building is desirable since most everything is labeled and the history seems to speak for itself. However, group tours can be arranged in advance. Trained historical interpreters are available. Call Lockport 434-7433 to inquire.
The
Civil War Room upstairs in the Outwater Building documents the contribution
Niagara County residents made to the union cause in the Civil War. An excellent
collection of artifacts and weapons of the period are on display and labeled. One
such lighted display is seen at the left.
Of course there is a registry of those from this area who made contributions. But for civil war buffs from any area, the collection in the Outwater Building will be a worthwhile viewing.
Not shown are the exhibits of various awards, ribbons, documentation, and other weapons used in the 1850's.
The Outwater Gift Shop is a prime source of
historical books on the area, souvenirs, and other material related to the history of
Niagara County. It is on the main floor of the building.
Here you can sign up for membership in the Historical Society if you wish. Or, make purchase of the more tasteful souvenirs from all over Niagara County.
Pictured to the left is a portion of the "Young People's Corner" with books and items on the Erie Canal, pioneer life, the Iroquois Indians, the civil war, etc. Also toys and candy.
The shop features an exclusive line of Lockport souvenirs including Tee-Shirts, totebags, magnets, travel mugs, postcards, pin, and the like. Available historical publications and maps deal with areas and topics from all over Niagara County.
Pat Ott Few usually holds forth in the gift shop and can provide
much information on items on hand and other resources you may be looking for around the
museum campus, or around the county.
To the left, she is showing off part of the collection of cards and small booklets available. The quilt is the background is being offered as part of the 1999 fund-raising effort by the Historical Society.
The Niagara County Historical Society is a 501(3)(c) non-profit organization. Donations help the day-to-day operation of the museum and its properties. 90% of all monies given to the now-in-progress $250,000 fund raising campaign goes for exhibit upgrades, additional off-street parking, artifact restoration, property upgrades, and purchase of an adjacent property to provide more future exhibit and storage space. Anyone at the museum can give additional information or you may call (716) 434-7433. For those out-of-town...what a wonderful way to remember the Lockport area!
The gift shop is open during all museum hours.
Belva Ann Bennett Lockwood (1830-1917)
was born on a farm in Lockport's adjacent town of Royalton. She is nationally known
as the first woman lawyer admitted to practice before the Supreme Court. She was
also the first woman to run for President of the United States (and get votes) on the
"Equal Rights Party" in 1884 and again in 1888.
From an early age, Belva was one tough cookie. She married at age 19 and her husband died soon after. Not much is said about this but she left the Niagara Frontier promptly with her baby daughter. She had enough money to go to college and did some teaching on the side. She graduated from Genesee College upstate and then went on to the Washington, DC area where she married a Ezekiel Lockwood. With her husband's support she went on to study and graduate from the National University Law School.
Belva was not a particularly attractive woman. It is difficult to find a complimentary photograph of her. In the Outwater Building on public exhibit is an original oil portrait painted for her by M. W. Clark in 1891 at Washington. It was given to the Historical Society here by her grandson, Mr. DeForest L. Ormes. It is without doubt the most flattering image of her available anywhere. If you are a Belva Lockwood researcher you really should visit the Niagara County Historical Society and this area to find out about her early life. She never returned here, she had her reason, no doubt. She is buried in the prestigious Congressional Cemetery in Washington, DC. You may visit her gravesite by clicking here.
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