North Tonawanda, New York
Encyclopedia
North Tonawanda is a city in Niagara County
, New York
, United States
. The population was 31,568 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Buffalo
–Niagara Falls
Metropolitan Statistical Area
. The city is named after Tonawanda Creek
, its south border. Tonawanda in the Seneca
tongue means "Swift Running Water".
Tonawanda Creek, which flows into the Niagara River, once had large stretches of rapids (see Rapids, New York
) until it was tamed with the construction of the Erie Canal
. The city also calls itself "The Lumber City," due to its past primary industry and once was the largest port on the Great Lakes
during the height of the Erie Canal. Along Goundry Street are mansions built for the lumber barons, including 208 Goundry Street, called "Kent Place", designed by Stanford White
. It is also home to the 2009 Class AA NYS Football Champion Lumberjacks.
in Niagara County, from May 1836. An abortive attempt at a village containing portions in two counties and two towns from January 1854 until April 1857, it was part of the Niagara County/Town of Wheatfield component, with the other portion being located in Erie County and the Town of Tonawanda. The experiment was abandoned after New York State removed the North Tonawanda component from the village. Oral history claims a dispute between merchants was the cause, but the combination of communities in two different counties and two different towns was unwieldy. After becoming a village on May 8, 1865 (still in the Town of Wheatfield, but as part of Martinsville, New York), North Tonawanda was incorporated as a City on April 24, 1897.
North Tonawanda is on the north side of the Erie Canal/Tonawanda Creek, across from Erie County, New York and the communities of the City of Tonawanda and the Town of Amherst. The Town of Wheatfield borders North Tonawanda on the north and east; the Niagara River serves as its western border, as Tonawanda Creek is its southern border. North Tonawanda is the second largest city in Niagara County.
North Tonawanda is known as "the Lumber City," because it was from the mid-19th century through the 1970s, a lumber transportation or forwarding center of significance. Because of the ready availability of lumber, it was the birthplace of the Herschell-Spillman Company/Allan Herschell Co., one of the leading manufacturers of carousel
s in America and is now the home of the Herschell Carrousel Factory Museum. In 1888, Herschell attracted expatriate Belgian Eugene de Kleist
to North Tonawanda, who started the North Tonawanda Barrel Organ Factory
to produce band organs. Taken over in 1909 by the Rudolph Wurlitzer Company
after De Kleist became mayor of North Tonawanda in 1906, Wurlitzer became one of the largest musical instrument manufacturing plants in the world. The Ray H. Bennett Lumber Co., one of more than 150 lumber companies to have called North Tonawanda home, produced kit homes sold around the nation and Canada for 70 years. Richardson Boat, Buffalo Bolt, Durez Chemical, National Grinding Wheel, Taylor Devices, International Paper, Tonawanda Iron & Steel, Riverside Chemical, and hundreds of other succesfful manufacturing businesses called North Tonawanda home.
The Railroad Museum of the Niagara Frontier occupies a 1923 Erie Railroad station on Oliver Street. The Riviera Theater and Performing Arts Center on Webster Street, in a restored Italian Renaissance-style building, features plays, concerts, movies and other events, and has a monthly American Theatre Organ concert provided by its 1926 "Mighty Wurlitzer" organ. The theater is one of only a handful in the United States with projectors capable of showing the nitrate film used for silent movies. The Ghostlight Theatre is a community theater in a century-old church. The former Carnegie Library is home to the Carnegie Art Center. An E. B. Green designed building houses the Buffalo Suzuki Strings Musical Arts Center. An active arts community has developed in the downtown area as well. The North Tonawanda History Museum occupies the former G. C. Murphy Co. store building on Webster Street in the heart of the Downtown Historic District.
Parks in North Tonawanda include Veteran's Park, which has a monument to U.S. Seabees, one to the U.S. Marines, and is working on one to Vietnam War Veterans; Gateway Harbor Park, along the Erie Canal, the site of the annual Canal Fest in July and free concerts and other activities; the 53 acres (214,483.6 m²) Gratwick-Riverside Park along the Niagara River; and Pine Woods Park, Mayor's Park, and the North Tonawanda Botanical Gardens with a boat launch.
For further information on North Tonawanda, contact the North Tonawanda History Museum. A full-length book, "North Tonawanda: The Lumber City," was produced by the History Museum in 2007 and is available for purchase through the History Museum.
The Erie Canal
defines the southern and the majority of the eastern borders of the city, with the rest of the eastern border made up of Sweeney Street and Old Falls Boulevard. Niagara Falls Boulevard (US Route 62) defines the northeastern border of the city. The majority of the northern border of the city is a line that runs east-west just above Forbes Terrace, mostly paralleling Ruie Road, with the rest of the northern border being a short northwesterly line that runs from Ward Road to Witmer Road. The western edge of the city is defined by the Niagara River
and a line that runs just west of and parallel to Witmer Road. Also, at the southwest corner of the city is Tonawanda Island, which is separated from the mainland by the Little River (Part of the East Branch of the Niagara River) and is part of the city.
The edge of North Tonawanda is sometimes hard to find, because the southern parts of both the Towns of Wheatfield and Pendleton use the 14120 zip code. (14120 is North Tonawanda's zip code.)
The North Tonawanda City Market, established in 1908, is the oldest farmer's market in Niagara County. It is open three days a week year round but busiest in the summer and early fall, when more than 70 area farmers sell there. DeGraff Memorial Hospital also is located in the city.
The city has a number of properties on the National Register of Historic Places. They include the Carnegie Library
, Allan Herschell Carousel Factory
, Riviera Theatre, and U.S. Post Office
building.
of 2000, there were 33,262 people, 13,671 households, and 8,981 families residing in the city. The population density
was 3,293.2 people per square mile (1,271.5/km²). There were 14,425 housing units at an average density of 1,428.2 per square mile (551.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.86% White, 0.29% African American, 0.34% Native American, 0.53% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.29% from other races
, and 0.68% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.09% of the population.
The city boasts a large Polish-American community along with German-American, Italian-American and Austro-Hungarian communities. It was historically known as a sundown town
.
There were 13,671 households out of which 30.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.8% were married couples
living together, 11.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.3% were non-families. 29.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 3.03.
In the city the population was spread out with 23.7% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 28.9% from 25 to 44, 23.1% from 45 to 64, and 15.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 94.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $39,154, and the median income for a family was $50,219. Males had a median income of $36,551 versus $25,129 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $19,264. 7.2% of the population and 5.4% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 9.1% are under the age of 18 and 6.1% are 65 or older.
Niagara County, New York
Niagara County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 216,469. The county seat is Lockport. The county name is from the Iroquois word Onguiaahra; meaning the strait or thunder of waters. It is the location of Niagara Falls and Fort Niagara, and...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The population was 31,568 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Buffalo
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
–Niagara Falls
Niagara Falls, New York
Niagara Falls is a city in Niagara County, New York, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 50,193, down from the 55,593 recorded in the 2000 census. It is across the Niagara River from Niagara Falls, Ontario , both named after the famed Niagara Falls which they...
Metropolitan Statistical Area
Buffalo-Niagara Falls metropolitan area
The Buffalo-Niagara Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area is a metropolitan area, designated by the United States Census Bureau, encompassing two counties – Erie and Niagara – in Western New York, with a population, as of the 2010 census, of 1,135,509 inhabitants...
. The city is named after Tonawanda Creek
Tonawanda Creek
Tonawanda Creek is a small river in Western New York, in the United States. William Bright says the best that can be said of the name is that it is "probably from an Iroquoian source, but of unclear derivation".-Description:...
, its south border. Tonawanda in the Seneca
Seneca language
Seneca is the language of the Seneca people, one of the Six Nations of the Iroquois League. About 10,000 Seneca live in the United States and Canada, primarily on reservations in western New York, with others living in Oklahoma and near Brantford, Ontario.-Phonology:Seneca words are written with...
tongue means "Swift Running Water".
Tonawanda Creek, which flows into the Niagara River, once had large stretches of rapids (see Rapids, New York
Rapids, New York
Rapids is a hamlet located in the Town of Lockport in Niagara County, New York, United States. The population was 1,356 at the 2000 census....
) until it was tamed with the construction of the Erie Canal
Erie Canal
The Erie Canal is a waterway in New York that runs about from Albany, New York, on the Hudson River to Buffalo, New York, at Lake Erie, completing a navigable water route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes. The canal contains 36 locks and encompasses a total elevation differential of...
. The city also calls itself "The Lumber City," due to its past primary industry and once was the largest port on the Great Lakes
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...
during the height of the Erie Canal. Along Goundry Street are mansions built for the lumber barons, including 208 Goundry Street, called "Kent Place", designed by Stanford White
Stanford White
Stanford White was an American architect and partner in the architectural firm of McKim, Mead & White, the frontrunner among Beaux-Arts firms. He designed a long series of houses for the rich and the very rich, and various public, institutional, and religious buildings, some of which can be found...
. It is also home to the 2009 Class AA NYS Football Champion Lumberjacks.
History
After the first settlers arrived in 1809, North Tonawanda became part of the town of Wheatfield, New YorkWheatfield, New York
Wheatfield is a town in Niagara County, New York, United States. The population was 18,117 at the 2010 census. The name stems from the agricultural use of the town lands: Growing Wheat....
in Niagara County, from May 1836. An abortive attempt at a village containing portions in two counties and two towns from January 1854 until April 1857, it was part of the Niagara County/Town of Wheatfield component, with the other portion being located in Erie County and the Town of Tonawanda. The experiment was abandoned after New York State removed the North Tonawanda component from the village. Oral history claims a dispute between merchants was the cause, but the combination of communities in two different counties and two different towns was unwieldy. After becoming a village on May 8, 1865 (still in the Town of Wheatfield, but as part of Martinsville, New York), North Tonawanda was incorporated as a City on April 24, 1897.
North Tonawanda is on the north side of the Erie Canal/Tonawanda Creek, across from Erie County, New York and the communities of the City of Tonawanda and the Town of Amherst. The Town of Wheatfield borders North Tonawanda on the north and east; the Niagara River serves as its western border, as Tonawanda Creek is its southern border. North Tonawanda is the second largest city in Niagara County.
North Tonawanda is known as "the Lumber City," because it was from the mid-19th century through the 1970s, a lumber transportation or forwarding center of significance. Because of the ready availability of lumber, it was the birthplace of the Herschell-Spillman Company/Allan Herschell Co., one of the leading manufacturers of carousel
Carousel
A carousel , or merry-go-round, is an amusement ride consisting of a rotating circular platform with seats for riders...
s in America and is now the home of the Herschell Carrousel Factory Museum. In 1888, Herschell attracted expatriate Belgian Eugene de Kleist
Eugene de Kleist
Baron Frederick Joseph Eugene de Kleist , was a pioneering German organ builder, who in founding the North Tonawanda Barrel Organ Factory, started the American style of Band organs....
to North Tonawanda, who started the North Tonawanda Barrel Organ Factory
North Tonawanda Barrel Organ Factory
The North Tonawanda Barrel Organ Factory was a street organ organ manufacturing company and building, locted in North Tonawanda, New York. Started by expatriate German Eugene de Kleist with backing from Allan Herschell, the company was later purchased by the Wurlitzer company.-Foundations:In 1892,...
to produce band organs. Taken over in 1909 by the Rudolph Wurlitzer Company
Wurlitzer
The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, usually referred to simply as Wurlitzer, was an American company that produced stringed instruments, woodwinds, brass instruments, theatre organs, band organs, orchestrions, electronic organs, electric pianos and jukeboxes....
after De Kleist became mayor of North Tonawanda in 1906, Wurlitzer became one of the largest musical instrument manufacturing plants in the world. The Ray H. Bennett Lumber Co., one of more than 150 lumber companies to have called North Tonawanda home, produced kit homes sold around the nation and Canada for 70 years. Richardson Boat, Buffalo Bolt, Durez Chemical, National Grinding Wheel, Taylor Devices, International Paper, Tonawanda Iron & Steel, Riverside Chemical, and hundreds of other succesfful manufacturing businesses called North Tonawanda home.
The Railroad Museum of the Niagara Frontier occupies a 1923 Erie Railroad station on Oliver Street. The Riviera Theater and Performing Arts Center on Webster Street, in a restored Italian Renaissance-style building, features plays, concerts, movies and other events, and has a monthly American Theatre Organ concert provided by its 1926 "Mighty Wurlitzer" organ. The theater is one of only a handful in the United States with projectors capable of showing the nitrate film used for silent movies. The Ghostlight Theatre is a community theater in a century-old church. The former Carnegie Library is home to the Carnegie Art Center. An E. B. Green designed building houses the Buffalo Suzuki Strings Musical Arts Center. An active arts community has developed in the downtown area as well. The North Tonawanda History Museum occupies the former G. C. Murphy Co. store building on Webster Street in the heart of the Downtown Historic District.
Parks in North Tonawanda include Veteran's Park, which has a monument to U.S. Seabees, one to the U.S. Marines, and is working on one to Vietnam War Veterans; Gateway Harbor Park, along the Erie Canal, the site of the annual Canal Fest in July and free concerts and other activities; the 53 acres (214,483.6 m²) Gratwick-Riverside Park along the Niagara River; and Pine Woods Park, Mayor's Park, and the North Tonawanda Botanical Gardens with a boat launch.
For further information on North Tonawanda, contact the North Tonawanda History Museum. A full-length book, "North Tonawanda: The Lumber City," was produced by the History Museum in 2007 and is available for purchase through the History Museum.
Geography
North Tonawanda is located at 43°2′28"N 78°52′8"W (43.041006, -78.868920).The Erie Canal
Erie Canal
The Erie Canal is a waterway in New York that runs about from Albany, New York, on the Hudson River to Buffalo, New York, at Lake Erie, completing a navigable water route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes. The canal contains 36 locks and encompasses a total elevation differential of...
defines the southern and the majority of the eastern borders of the city, with the rest of the eastern border made up of Sweeney Street and Old Falls Boulevard. Niagara Falls Boulevard (US Route 62) defines the northeastern border of the city. The majority of the northern border of the city is a line that runs east-west just above Forbes Terrace, mostly paralleling Ruie Road, with the rest of the northern border being a short northwesterly line that runs from Ward Road to Witmer Road. The western edge of the city is defined by the Niagara River
Niagara River
The Niagara River flows north from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. It forms part of the border between the Province of Ontario in Canada and New York State in the United States. There are differing theories as to the origin of the name of the river...
and a line that runs just west of and parallel to Witmer Road. Also, at the southwest corner of the city is Tonawanda Island, which is separated from the mainland by the Little River (Part of the East Branch of the Niagara River) and is part of the city.
The edge of North Tonawanda is sometimes hard to find, because the southern parts of both the Towns of Wheatfield and Pendleton use the 14120 zip code. (14120 is North Tonawanda's zip code.)
Buildings
It is home to many historic mansions and a historic cemetery.The North Tonawanda City Market, established in 1908, is the oldest farmer's market in Niagara County. It is open three days a week year round but busiest in the summer and early fall, when more than 70 area farmers sell there. DeGraff Memorial Hospital also is located in the city.
The city has a number of properties on the National Register of Historic Places. They include the Carnegie Library
Carnegie Library (North Tonawanda, New York)
Carnegie Library is a historic library building located at North Tonawanda in Niagara County, New York. It was designed and built in 1903, with funds provided by the philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. It is one of 3,000 such libraries constructed between 1885 and 1919, and one of 107 in New York...
, Allan Herschell Carousel Factory
Allan Herschell Carousel Factory
Allan Herschell Carousel Factory is a historic carousel factory building located at North Tonawanda in Niagara County, New York. The factory complex was constructed between about 1910 and 1915 and consists of six primary structures and five contributory additions. The primary structures are: the...
, Riviera Theatre, and U.S. Post Office
U.S. Post Office (North Tonawanda, New York)
US Post Office—North Tonawanda is a historic post office building located at North Tonawanda in Niagara County, New York. It was designed and built 1912-1914, and is one of a number of post offices in New York State designed by the Office of the Supervising Architect of the Treasury Department,...
building.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 33,262 people, 13,671 households, and 8,981 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 3,293.2 people per square mile (1,271.5/km²). There were 14,425 housing units at an average density of 1,428.2 per square mile (551.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.86% White, 0.29% African American, 0.34% Native American, 0.53% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.29% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 0.68% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.09% of the population.
The city boasts a large Polish-American community along with German-American, Italian-American and Austro-Hungarian communities. It was historically known as a sundown town
Sundown town
A sundown town is a town that is or was purposely all-White. The term is widely used in the United States in areas from Ohio to Oregon and well into the South. The term came from signs that were allegedly posted stating that people of color had to leave the town by sundown...
.
There were 13,671 households out of which 30.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.8% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 11.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.3% were non-families. 29.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 3.03.
In the city the population was spread out with 23.7% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 28.9% from 25 to 44, 23.1% from 45 to 64, and 15.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 94.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $39,154, and the median income for a family was $50,219. Males had a median income of $36,551 versus $25,129 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the city was $19,264. 7.2% of the population and 5.4% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 9.1% are under the age of 18 and 6.1% are 65 or older.
Schools
The schools of North Tonawanda are North Tonawanda High School, North Tonawanda Middle School, Drake Elementary, Meadow Elementary, Spruce Elementary, Gilmore Elementary,Grant Elementary, and Ohio Elementary.Essential Services
- North Tonawanda City School District
- North Tonawanda Police Department
- North Tonawanda Library
- DeGraff Memorial Hospital, part of Kaleida HealthKaleida HealthKaleida Health is the largest non-profit health care provider in Western New York. Founded in 1998, the organization supplies the area's eight counties with health services throughout five different hospitals and separate medical centers...
- North Tonawanda Fire Department(Combination Fire Dept); The department consist of 39 full time career firefighters and volunteer firefighters form the Columbia Hook & Ladder Co. #1, Active Hose Co. #2, Live Hose Co. #4, Rescue Fire Co. #5, Gratwick Hose Co. #6, and the Sweeney Hose Co. #7.
Notable residents
- Ted BarrettTed BarrettEdward George "Ted" Barrett is an umpire in Major League Baseball. He joined the American League's staff in 1994, and has worked throughout both major leagues since 2000....
- Jim HurtubiseJim HurtubiseIn 1957, Hurtubise started his NASCAR career running two races. Over the next twenty years, he would race 36 races, winning one race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, and amassing eleven top ten finishes.-Award:...
- Gladys ParkerGladys ParkerGladys Parker was an American cartoonist for comic strips and a fashion designer in Hollywood. She is best known as the creator of the comic strip Mopsy which had a long run over three decades....
, comic strip artist - Stan RojekStan RojekStanley Andrew Rojek born in North Tonawanda, New York was a shortstop for the Brooklyn Dodgers , Pittsburgh Pirates , St. Louis Cardinals and St...
- Maryalice Demler
- Kristina Nam, noted psychotherapist
- Richard C. Kloch, Sr., Former City Attorney and NY State Supreme Court Judge
- Rod Ryan, host, The Rod Ryan Morning Show" on 94.5 The Buzz KTBZ-FM, Houston, TexasHouston, TexasHouston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
- Daniel Plunkett, Amateur Skateboarder, Notable sponsors include Skate-Mental Skateboards, HUF Footwear, and Thunder Trucks
- Brendan Dimitri, social media marketer, noted for release of the REACH v4 platform