Lewiston

By Suzanne Simon Dietz and Amy Lynn Freiermuth

Lewiston, New York, a village and town on the mighty Niagara River, was destroyed during the War of 1812. Rebuilding began in the embers from that war, and the ongoing transformation has created a popular tourist destination for music, theater, festivals, and more. Historian Suzanne Simon Dietz and photographer Amy Lynn Freiermuth combined their talents to create Lewiston by selecting images from local museums, libraries, newspaper archives, and private collections.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
• Release date: Jun 28, 2010
• ISBN: 9781439623817

Suzanne Simon Dietz

Historian Suzanne Simon Dietz and photographer Amy Lynn Freiermuth combined their talents to create Lewiston by selecting images from local museums, libraries, newspaper archives, and private collections

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INTRODUCTION

The Town of Lewiston was formed from the Town of Cambria by an act of the New York State Legislature on February 27, 1818. Following the formation of Erie County, the current borders of Niagara County were established and the Village of Lewiston was designated the temporary county seat from 1821 to 1823. Former president Jimmy Carter described the Village of Lewiston, incorporated on April 17, 1822, as the most historic square mile in America. The sovereign Tuscarora Nation, Model City (Model Town), Sanborn, part of Pekin, and the early hamlet of Dickersonville (known as Hardscrabble before the War of 1812) are situated within the town.

New York State governor Morgan Lewis was the namesake for Lewiston, originally called Lewis Town. Lewis fought in the American Revolution, commanded the American forces at the Battle of Fort George on May 1813, and later was appointed commander of Upstate New York. Daniel Tompkins defeated Lewis in the 1807 election. Tompkins played an important role in reorganizing the state militia and used his personal property as collateral for loans to finance the War of 1812 in New York. Francis Lewis, father of Morgan Lewis, was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence.

Lewiston was the birthplace of the thundering cascades of Niagara Falls more than 12,000 years ago. As the falls eroded more than 7 miles, Lewiston’s history helped to shape the expansion of our country. The portage or carrying place from Lewiston around the falls was key to the development of the Great Lakes area and settlement of the West. Frenchman Chabert de Joncaire constructed a trading post in 1719, establishing the first permanent structure built by a white man in Lewiston. John Montresor built the earliest recorded railway, an inclined tramway up the escarpment, in