Editing Buffalo, New York (section)

==History==
{{Main|History of Buffalo, New York}}
{{For timeline}}

===Pre-Columbian era to European exploration===
[[File:Wenro Territory ca1630 map-en.svg|thumb|left|alt=Color map of New York with Wenro territory highlighted from the mouth of Buffalo Creek east to the Genesee River|Approximate extent of [[Wenrohronon|Wenro]] territory {{Circa|1630}}]]
Before the [[European colonization of the Americas|arrival of Europeans]], nomadic [[Paleo-Indians]] inhabited the [[western New York]] region from the [[Lithic stage|8th millennium BCE]]. The [[Woodland period]] began around 1000 BC, marked by the rise of the [[Iroquois|Iroquois Confederacy]] and the spread of its tribes throughout the state.<ref name = "Thompson1977 113-120">{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/stream/geographyofnewyo00thom |url-access=registration |title=Geography of New York State |last=Thompson |first=John H. |publisher=[[Syracuse University Press]] |year=1977 |isbn=9780815621829 |pages=113–120 |chapter=The Indian |location=Syracuse, N.Y. |lccn=77004337 |oclc=2874807}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Ritchie |first1=William A. |title=The Archaeology of New York State |date=19 February 2014 |publisher=[[Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group]] |isbn=978-0-307-82049-5 |chapter=The Woodland Stage—Development of Ceramics, Agriculture and Village Life}}</ref> Seventeenth-century [[Jesuit missionaries]] were the first Europeans to visit the area.<ref name="Rundell1962 57-96" />

During [[French colonization of the Americas|French exploration of the region]] in 1620, the region was sparsely populated and occupied by the [[Agrarian society|agrarian]] [[Erie people]] in the south and the [[Neutral Nation]] in the north, with a relatively small tribe, the [[Wenrohronon]], between and the [[Seneca people|Senecas]], an Iroquois tribe, occupying the land just east of the region.<ref name = "Thompson1977 113-120"/> The Neutral grew tobacco and [[hemp]] to trade with the Iroquois, who [[North American fur trade|traded furs]] with the French for European goods.<ref name = "Thompson1977 113-120" /> The tribes used animal- and war paths to travel and move goods across what today is New York State. (Centuries later, these same paths were gradually improved, then paved, then developed into major modern roads.)<ref name = "Thompson1977 113-120"/> Traditional Seneca oral legends, as recounted by professional storytellers known as Hagéotâ, were highly participatory. These tales were told only during winter, as they were believed to have the power to put even animals and plants to sleep, which could affect the harvest. At the conclusion, audience members typically offered gifts, such as tobacco, to the storyteller as a sign of appreciation.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Seneca Folk Tales {{!}} Early Americas Digital Archive (EADA) |url=https://eada.lib.umd.edu/text-entries/seneca-folk-tales/ |access-date=2024-10-07 |website=eada.lib.umd.edu}}</ref> During the [[Beaver Wars]] in the mid-17th century the Senecas conquered the Erie and Neutrals in the region.<ref>{{Cite journal |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20086480 |title=The Indians of the Past and of the Present |journal=[[Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography]] |volume=46 |issue=3 |last=Donehoo |first=George P. |year=1922 |pages=177–198 |jstor=20086480 |access-date=June 11, 2021 |archive-date=June 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210611202413/https://www.jstor.org/stable/20086480 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Seneca">{{Cite journal |doi=10.1525/aa.1927.29.2.02a00050 |title=The Migrations of the Seneca Nation |last=Houghton |first=Frederick |date=1927 |journal=[[American Anthropologist]] |pages=241–250 |volume=29 |issue=2 |doi-access = free|issn=0002-7294}}</ref><ref name="AmHeritageBk">{{cite encyclopedia |year=1961 |title=The American Heritage Book of Indians |editor=Alvin M. Josephy, Jr |publisher=[[American Heritage Publishing|American Heritage Publishing Co., Inc.]] |lccn=61-14871 |page=189}}</ref> Native Americans did not settle along Buffalo Creek permanently until 1780, when displaced Senecas were relocated from [[Fort Niagara]].<ref name="Rundell1962 57-96">{{cite book |last1=Rundell |first1=Edwin F. |last2=Stein |first2=Charles W. |title=Buffalo: your city |chapter=Buffalo's Early History—The Village |pages=57–96 |date=1962 |publisher=Henry Stewart, Incorporated |edition=4th |oclc=3023258 |location=[[Buffalo and Erie County Public Library]]}}</ref> The Seneca town of {{lang|sen|Došowëh}}, meaning "Between the [[Tilia americana|basswoods]]," was historically located on Buffalo Creek, and {{lang|sen|Došowëh}} continues to be used as the [[seneca language|Seneca]] name for the modern city of Buffalo.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Chafe |first1=Wallace |title=Seneca |url=https://senecalanguage.com/wp-content/uploads/Seneca-Words-Chafe.pdf |publisher=Seneca Language Department}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Buffalo Name Origin: Theories Summarized and Ranked |url=https://issuu.com/tbhm/docs/buffalo_name_origin |publisher=Buffalo History Museum}}</ref>

[[Louis Hennepin]] and [[René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle|Sieur de La Salle]] explored the upper Niagara and Ontario regions in the late 1670s.<ref name = "Becker1906 9-24">{{Cite book|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/sketchesofearlyb00beck |title=Sketches of early Buffalo and the Niagara region |chapter=La Salle and The Griffon |pages=9–24 |last=Becker |first=Sophie C. |publisher=McLaughlin Press |year=1906 |location=Buffalo, N.Y. |oclc=12629461}}</ref> In 1679, La Salle's ship, [[Le Griffon]], became the first to sail above Niagara Falls near [[Cayuga Creek]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Brady |first1=Erik |title=Le Griffon never made it to port but lives on in a Buffalo park and the Canisius mascot |url=https://buffalonews.com/news/local/le-griffon-never-made-it-to-port-but-lives-on-in-a-buffalo-park-and/article_3f8ad5cb-4331-5bae-98b7-ed4da422c0e5.html |url-access=limited |website=[[The Buffalo News]] |access-date=5 June 2021 |language=en |date=July 8, 2019 |archive-date=6 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210606062653/https://buffalonews.com/news/local/le-griffon-never-made-it-to-port-but-lives-on-in-a-buffalo-park-and/article_3f8ad5cb-4331-5bae-98b7-ed4da422c0e5.html |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Louis-Armand de Lom d'Arce de Lahontan, Baron de Lahontan|Baron de Lahontan]] visited the site of Buffalo in 1687.<ref name="French&Place1860 279-294" /> A small French settlement along Buffalo Creek lasted for only a year (1758). After the [[French and Indian War]], the region was ruled by Britain.<ref name="Rundell1962 57-96" /> After the [[American Revolution]], the [[Province of New York]]—now a U.S. state—began westward expansion, looking for arable land by following the Iroquois.<ref name = "Thompson1977 407-423">{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/stream/geographyofnewyo00thom |url-access=registration |title=Geography of New York State |last=Thompson |first=John H. |publisher=[[Syracuse University Press]] |year=1977 |isbn=9780815621829 |pages=407–423 |chapter=Buffalo |location=Syracuse, N.Y. |lccn=77004337 |oclc=2874807}}</ref>

New York and [[Massachusetts]] were vying for the territory which included Buffalo, and Massachusetts had the right to purchase all but a one-mile-(1600-meter)-wide portion of land. The rights to the Massachusetts territories were sold to [[Robert Morris (financier)|Robert Morris]] in 1791.<ref name="Sprague1882">{{Cite book |last=Buffalo Historical Society |title=Semi-centennial Celebration of the City of Buffalo: Address of the Hon. E. C. Sprague Before the Buffalo Historical Society, July 3, 1882 |publisher=[[Buffalo Historical Society]] |year=1882 |location=Buffalo, N.Y. |pages=17–21 |language=en}}</ref> Despite objections from Seneca chief [[Red Jacket]], Morris brokered a deal between fellow chief [[Cornplanter]] and the Dutch [[dummy corporation]] [[Holland Land Company]].{{efn|Foreign entities were not allowed to own land in New York State until 1798 (Goldman 1983a, p. 27).}}<ref name="Goldman1983 21-56" /><ref name="Reitano2016 66-96">{{Cite book |last=Reitano |first=Joanne R. |url= |title=New York State: peoples, places, and priorities: a concise history with sources |chapter=The Empire State: 1790–1830 |date=2016 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=978-1-136-69997-9 |location=New York |pages=66–96 |oclc=918135120 |ref=Reitano2016 |access-date=}}</ref> The [[Holland Land Purchase]] gave the Senecas three reservations, and the Holland Land Company received {{cvt|4000000|acre|km2}} for about thirty-three cents per acre.<ref name="Goldman1983 21-56" />
<!-- this section is missing information on the first burning of the village of New Amsterdam -->

Permanent white settlers along the creek were prisoners captured during the [[American Revolutionary War|Revolutionary War]].<ref name = "Becker1906 106-117">{{Cite book|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/sketchesofearlyb00beck |title=Sketches of early Buffalo and the Niagara region |chapter=Buffalo Village |pages=106–117 |last=Becker |first=Sophie C. |publisher=McLaughlin Press |year=1906 |location=Buffalo, N.Y. |oclc=12629461}}</ref><ref name="Rundell1962 57-96" /> Early landowners were Iroquois interpreter Captain William Johnston, former enslaved man Joseph "Black Joe" Hodges and Cornelius Winney, a Dutch trader who arrived in 1789.<ref name="Rundell1962 57-96" /><ref name="Bingham1931 132-142">{{cite book |last1=Bingham |first1=Robert W. |title=The cradle of the Queen city: a history of Buffalo to the incorporation of the city |chapter=Captain William Johnston |series=Publications, Buffalo Historical Society,v. 31 |url=https://hdl.handle.net/2027/uva.x000743988 |date=1931 |publisher=[[Buffalo Historical Society]] |location=Buffalo, N.Y. |pages=132–142 |hdl=2027/uva.x000743988 |oclc=364308016 |access-date=June 9, 2021 |archive-date=June 22, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210622041720/https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uva.x000743988 |url-status=live}}</ref> As a result of the war, in which the Iroquois sided with the [[British Army during the American Revolutionary War|British Army]], Iroquois territory was gradually reduced in the late 1700s by European settlers through successive statewide treaties which included the [[Treaty of Fort Stanwix (1784)]] and the [[First Treaty of Buffalo Creek]] (1788).<ref name = "Thompson1977 140-171">{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/stream/geographyofnewyo00thom |url-access=registration |title=Geography of New York State |last=Thompson |first=John H. |publisher=[[Syracuse University Press]] |year=1977 |isbn=9780815621829 |pages=140–171 |chapter=Geography of Expansion |location=Syracuse, N.Y. |lccn=77004337 |oclc=2874807}}</ref> The Iroquois were moved onto reservations, including [[Buffalo Creek Reservation|Buffalo Creek]]. By the end of the 18th century, only {{cvt|338|mi2|acre km2 ha}} of reservations remained.<ref name="Brush1901">{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/iroquoispastpres00brus |page=87 |title=Iroquois Past and Present |last=Brush |first=Edward H. |publisher=Baker, Jones & Co. |year=1901 |location=Buffalo, N.Y.}}</ref>

After the [[Treaty of Big Tree]] removed Iroquois title to lands west of the [[Genesee River]] in 1797, [[Joseph Ellicott]] surveyed land at the mouth of Buffalo Creek.<ref name = "Becker1906 106-117"/><ref name="Bingham1931 143-165">{{cite book |last1=Bingham |first1=Robert W. |title=The cradle of the Queen city: a history of Buffalo to the incorporation of the city |chapter=The Holland Land Company |series=Publications, Buffalo Historical Society,v. 31 |url=https://hdl.handle.net/2027/uva.x000743988 |date=1931 |publisher=[[Buffalo Historical Society]] |location=Buffalo, N.Y. |pages=132–143 |hdl=2027/uva.x000743988 |oclc=364308016 |access-date=June 9, 2021 |archive-date=June 22, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210622041720/https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uva.x000743988 |url-status=live}}</ref> In the middle of the village was an intersection of eight streets at present-day [[Niagara Square]]. Originally named New Amsterdam, its name was soon changed to Buffalo.<ref name="Fernald1910">{{Cite book |last=Fernald |first=Frederik Atherton |url=https://archive.org/details/indexguidetobuff00fern |title=The index guide to Buffalo and Niagara Falls |date=1910 |publisher=F. A. Fernald |others=[[The Library of Congress]] |location=Buffalo, N.Y. |pages=21 |access-date=November 30, 2017}}</ref>

=== Erie Canal, grain and commerce ===
[[File:Buffalo 1813 (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|alt=Sketch of a harbor in the early 1800s|Buffalo in 1813]]
The village of Buffalo was named for [[Buffalo River (New York)|Buffalo Creek]].{{Efn|Sources disagree on the creek's etymology.<ref name = "Beautiful">{{cite news |last1=Stefaniuk |first1=Walter |title=You asked us: the 868-3900 line to your desk at The Star: how Buffalo got its name |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/436693160 |url-access=subscription |access-date=27 May 2021 |work=[[Toronto Star]] |date=September 24, 1992 |location=Toronto, Ont. |page=A7 |language=en |id={{ProQuest|436693160}} }}</ref><ref name = "River">{{cite news |last1=Okun |first1=Janice |title=Worldy setting, sophisticated choices, atmosphere at Beau Fleuve |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/380815267 |url-access=subscription |access-date=27 May 2021 |work=[[The Buffalo News]] |date=March 19, 1993 |page=G32 |language=en |id={{ProQuest|380815267}} }}</ref><ref name="Bison">{{cite news |author=Staff |title='Beau Fleuve' story doesn't wash |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/381587989 |url-access=subscription |work=[[The Buffalo News]] |date=July 21, 1993 |page=B9 |access-date=May 29, 2021 |archive-date=May 27, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210527025137/https://www.proquest.com/docview/381587989 |id={{ProQuest|381587989}} |url-status=live }}</ref> Although its name possibly originated from French fur traders and Native Americans calling the creek ''Beau Fleuve'' ([[French language|French]] for "beautiful river"),<ref name="Beautiful"/><ref name="River"/> Buffalo Creek may have been named after the [[American bison|American buffalo]] (whose range may have extended into Western New York).<ref name="Bison"/><ref name="Bison_range">{{cite book |last1=Hornaday |first1=William T. |author-link=William Temple Hornaday |title=[[The Extermination of the American Bison]] |date=1889 |publisher=[[Government Printing Office]] |location=Washington D.C. |pages=385–386 |chapter-url=https://www.gutenberg.org/files/17748/17748-h/17748-h.htm#ii_geographical_distribution |access-date=August 20, 2015 |chapter=Geographic Distribution |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924203028/http://www.gutenberg.org/files/17748/17748-h/17748-h.htm#ii_geographical_distribution |archive-date=September 24, 2015}}</ref><ref name="Sprague1882" />}}<ref name = "Ketchum1865">{{cite book |last1=Ketchum |first1=William |author-link=William Ketchum (mayor) |title=An Authentic and Comprehensive History of Buffalo, with Some Account of Its Early Inhabitants, Both Savage and Civilized, Comprising Historic Notices of the Six Nations, Or Iroquois Indians, Vol. II |pages=63–65, 141 |chapter=Origin of the Name of Buffalo |date=1865 |publisher=Rockwell, Baker & Hill |location=Buffalo, N.Y. |isbn=9780665514968 |oclc=49073883}}</ref> British military engineer [[John Montresor]] referred to "Buffalo Creek" in his 1764 journal, the earliest recorded appearance of the name.<ref name="google">{{cite book |title=Buffalo Historical Society Publications |chapter=The Achievements of Captain John Montresor |author=Severance, Frank H. |author-link=Frank Severance |editor=[[Buffalo Historical Society]] |location=Buffalo, NY |date=1902 |publisher=Bigelow Brothers |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pBs8AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA15 |page=15 |access-date=August 14, 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150916180643/https://books.google.com/books?id=pBs8AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA15 |archive-date=September 16, 2015}}</ref> A road to [[Pennsylvania]] from Buffalo was built in 1802 for migrants traveling to the [[Connecticut Western Reserve]] in Ohio.<ref name="French&Place1860 208-217">{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/gazetteerofstate04fren |title=Gazetteer of the State of New York |chapter=Chautauque County |pages=208–217 |last1=French |first1=J. H. |last2=Place |first2=Frank |publisher=R. Pearsall Smith |year=1860 |location=Syracuse, N.Y. |oclc=682410715}}
</ref> Before an east–west turnpike across the state was completed, traveling from Albany to Buffalo would take a week; a trip from nearby [[Williamsville, New York|Williamsville]] to Batavia could take over three days.<ref name="Turner1849">{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/pioneerhistoryof1849inturn |title=Pioneer history of the Holland Purchase of western New York |pages=401, 439, 494–495, 498 |last=Turner |first=Orsamus |publisher=Jewett, Thomas & Co. |year=1849 |location=Buffalo, N.Y. |oclc=14246512}}</ref>{{Efn|When traveling with an ox and wagon team.}}

British forces [[Battle of Buffalo|burned Buffalo]] and the northwestern village of [[Black Rock, Buffalo|Black Rock]] in 1813.<ref>{{Cite book |title=The U.S. Army in the War of 1812: An Operational and Command Study |last=Quimby |first=Robert |publisher=[[Michigan State University Press]] |year=1997 |isbn=978-0-87013-441-8 |oclc=868964185 |location=East Lansing, MI |pages=355}}</ref> The battle and subsequent fire was in response to the destruction of [[Niagara-on-the-Lake]] by American forces and other skirmishes during the [[War of 1812]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hammill |first=Luke |url=http://buffalonews.com/2017/11/29/the-buffalo-of-yesteryear-chictawauga-scajaquady-and-other-oddities-of-the-year-1860/ |url-access=limited |title=The Buffalo of Yesteryear: Chictawauga, Scajaquady and the 'morass' that was Buffalo |date=November 29, 2017 |work=[[The Buffalo News]] |access-date=November 29, 2017 |language=en-US |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171129200743/http://buffalonews.com/2017/11/29/the-buffalo-of-yesteryear-chictawauga-scajaquady-and-other-oddities-of-the-year-1860/ |archive-date=November 29, 2017}}</ref><ref name = "Becker1906 118-132">{{Cite book|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/sketchesofearlyb00beck |title=Sketches of early Buffalo and the Niagara region |chapter=The Burning of Buffalo |pages=118–132 |last=Becker |first=Sophie C. |publisher=McLaughlin Press |year=1906 |location=Buffalo, N.Y. |oclc=12629461}}</ref><ref name="Rundell1962 57-96" /> Rebuilding was swift, completed in 1815.<ref name="Severance1879">{{Cite book|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/publicationsofbu09seve |title=Publications of the Buffalo Historical Society |last=Severance |first=Frank H. |author-link=Frank Severance |location=Buffalo |publisher=Bigelow Bros. |others=Harold B. Lee Library |year=1879 |pages=334–356 |chapter=Papers relating to the Burning of Buffalo}}</ref><ref name = "Becker1906 118-132"/> As a remote outpost, village residents hoped that the proposed [[Erie Canal]] would bring prosperity to the area.<ref name="Goldman1983 21-56" /> To accomplish this, Buffalo's harbor was expanded with the help of [[Samuel Wilkeson]]; it was selected as the canal's terminus over the rival Black Rock.<ref name="Rundell1962 57-96" /> It opened in 1825, ushering in commerce, manufacturing and [[hydropower]].<ref name="Goldman1983 21-56" /> By the following year, the {{cvt|130|sqmi|km2|adj=on}} Buffalo Creek Reservation (at the western border of the village) was transferred to Buffalo.<ref name="Brush1901" /> Buffalo was incorporated as a city in 1832.<ref name="NPSBuffaloTimeline">{{Cite web |url=http://www.nps.gov/thri/buffalotimeline.htm |title=A Brief Chronology of the Development of the City of Buffalo |access-date = October 29, 2014 |website=[[National Park Service]] |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141104091901/http://www.nps.gov/thri/buffalotimeline.htm |archive-date = November 4, 2014 |df=mdy-all}}</ref> During the 1830s, businessman [[Benjamin Rathbun]] significantly expanded its business district.<ref name="Goldman1983 21-56">{{Cite book |title=High hopes: the rise and decline of Buffalo, New York |chapter=Ups and Downs during the Early Years of the Nineteenth Century |pages=21–56 |last=Goldman |first=Mark |publisher=[[State University of New York Press]] |year=1983a |isbn=9780873957342 |location=Albany, N.Y. |oclc=09110713}}</ref> The city doubled in size from 1845 to 1855. Almost two-thirds of the city's population was foreign-born, largely a mix of unskilled (or educated) [[Irish Americans|Irish]] and [[German Americans|German]] [[Catholic Church|Catholics]].<ref name="Goldman1983 72-97" /><ref name="Rundell1962 97-125">{{cite book |last1=Rundell |first1=Edwin F. |last2=Stein |first2=Charles W. |title=Buffalo: your city |chapter=Buffalo Becomes a Great City |pages=97–125 |date=1962 |publisher=Henry Stewart, Incorporated |edition=4th |oclc=3023258 |location=[[Buffalo and Erie County Public Library]]}}</ref>

[[Fugitive slaves in the United States|Fugitive slaves]] made their way north to Buffalo during the 1840s.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Wesley |first1=Charles H. |author-link=Charles H. Wesley |title=The Participation of Negroes in Anti-Slavery Political Parties |journal=[[The Journal of Negro History]] |date=Jan 1944 |volume=29 |issue=1 |pages=43–44, 51–52, 55, 65 |jstor=2714753 |doi=10.2307/2714753 |s2cid=149675414}}</ref> Buffalo was a terminus of the [[Underground Railroad]], with many free Black people crossing the [[Niagara River]] to [[Fort Erie, Ontario]];<ref>{{Cite book |title=Underground Railroad in New York and New Jersey |publisher=[[Stackpole Books]] |date=May 14, 2014 |isbn=9780811746298 |first=William J. |last=Switala |page=126}}</ref> others remained in Buffalo.<ref name="Goldman1983 72-97">{{Cite book |title=High hopes: the rise and decline of Buffalo, New York |chapter=Ethnics: Germans, Irish and Blacks |pages=72–97 |last=Goldman |first=Mark |publisher=[[State University of New York Press]] |year=1983 |isbn=9780873957342 |location=Albany, N.Y. |oclc=09110713}}</ref> During this time, Buffalo's port continued to develop. Passenger and commercial traffic expanded, leading to the creation of feeder canals and the expansion of the city's harbor.<ref name="Goldman1983 56-71" /> Unloading grain in Buffalo was a laborious job, and grain handlers working on [[lake freighter]]s would make $1.50 a day ({{Inflation|US|1.50|1845|fmt=eq}}{{Inflation/fn|US}}) in a six-day work week.<ref name="Goldman1983 56-71" /> Local inventor [[Joseph Dart]] and engineer [[Robert Dunbar]] created the [[grain elevator]] in 1843, adapting the steam-powered elevator. [[Dart's Elevator]] initially processed one thousand [[bushel]]s per hour, speeding global distribution to consumers.<ref name="Goldman1983 56-71">{{Cite book |title=High hopes: the rise and decline of Buffalo, New York |chapter=The Impact of Commerce and Manufacturing on Mid-Nineteenth Century Buffalo |pages=56–71 |last=Goldman |first=Mark |publisher=[[State University of New York Press]] |year=1983 |isbn=9780873957342 |location=Albany, N.Y. |oclc=09110713}}</ref> Buffalo was the transshipment hub of the Great Lakes, and weather, maritime and political events in other Great Lakes cities had a direct impact on the city's economy.<ref name="Goldman1983 56-71" /> In addition to grain, Buffalo's primary imports included agricultural products from the Midwest (meat, whiskey, lumber and tobacco), and its exports included leather, ships and iron products. The mid-19th century saw the rise of new manufacturing capabilities, particularly with iron.<ref name="Goldman1983 56-71" />

By the 1860s, many railroads terminated in Buffalo; they included the [[Buffalo, Bradford and Pittsburgh Railroad]], [[Buffalo and Erie Railroad]], the [[New York Central Railroad]], and the [[Lehigh Valley Railroad]].<ref name="French&Place1860 279-294">{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/gazetteerofstate04fren |title=Gazetteer of the State of New York |chapter=Erie County |pages=279–294 |last1=French |first1=J. H. |last2=Place |first2=Frank |publisher=R. Pearsall Smith |year=1860 |location=Syracuse, N.Y. |oclc=682410715}}</ref> During this time, Buffalo controlled one-quarter of all shipping traffic on Lake Erie.<ref name="French&Place1860 279-294"/> After the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], canal traffic began to drop as railroads expanded into Buffalo.<ref name="Goldman1983 124-142">{{Cite book |title=High hopes: the rise and decline of Buffalo, New York |chapter=The Coming of Industry |pages=124–142 |last=Goldman |first=Mark |publisher=[[State University of New York Press]] |year=1983 |isbn=9780873957342 |location=Albany, N.Y. |oclc=09110713}}</ref> Unionization began to take hold in the late 19th century, highlighted by [[Great Railroad Strike of 1877|the Great Railroad Strike of 1877]] and [[Buffalo switchmen's strike|1892 Buffalo switchmen's strike]].<ref name="Goldman1983 143-175">{{Cite book |title=High hopes: the rise and decline of Buffalo, New York |chapter=The Response to Industrialization: Life and Labor, Values and Beliefs |pages=143–175 |last=Goldman |first=Mark |publisher=[[State University of New York Press]] |year=1983 |isbn=9780873957342 |location=Albany, N.Y. |oclc=09110713}}</ref>

=== <span class="anchor" id="Steel, challenges and modern era"></span>Steel, challenges, and the modern era ===
[[File:Pan-American Exposition, Buffalo, 1901 (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|alt=Aerial view of the Pan-American Exposition|Pan-American Exposition, 1901]]

At the start of the 20th century, Buffalo was the world's leading grain port and a national flour-milling hub.<ref name="Goldman1983 196-223" /> Local mills were among the first to benefit from [[hydroelectricity]] generated by the Niagara River. Buffalo hosted the 1901 [[Pan-American Exposition]] after the [[Spanish–American War]], showcasing the nation's advances in art, architecture, and electricity. Its centerpiece was the Electric Tower, with over two million light bulbs, but some exhibits were [[jingoistic]] and racially charged.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bewley |first1=Michele Ryan |title=The New World in Unity: Pan-America Visualized at Buffalo in 1901 |journal=[[New York History]] |date=2003 |volume=84 |issue=2 |pages=179–203 |jstor=23183322 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23183322 |url-access=subscription |access-date=8 June 2021 |issn=0146-437X |archive-date=June 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210608081958/https://www.jstor.org/stable/23183322 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Goldman1983 3-20">{{Cite book |title=High hopes: the rise and decline of Buffalo, New York |chapter=The Pan American Exposition: World's Fair as Historical Metaphor |pages=3–20 |last=Goldman |first=Mark |publisher=[[State University of New York Press]] |year=1983 |isbn=9780873957342 |location=Albany, N.Y. |oclc=09110713}}</ref><ref name="Reitano2016 162-191">{{Cite book |last=Reitano |first=Joanne R. |url= |title=New York State: peoples, places, and priorities: a concise history with sources |date=2016 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=978-1-136-69997-9 |location=New York |chapter=The Progressive State: 1900–28 |pages=162–191 |oclc=918135120 |ref=Reitano2016 |access-date=}}</ref> At the exposition, President [[William McKinley]] was [[Assassination of William McKinley|assassinated]] by [[anarchist]] [[Leon Czolgosz]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Markwyn |first1=Abigail |title=Spectacle and Politics in Buffalo and Philadelphia: The World's Fairs of 1901 and 1926 |journal=[[Reviews in American History]] |date=2018 |volume=46 |issue=4 |pages=624–630 |doi=10.1353/rah.2018.0094 |s2cid=150181280 |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/711872 |url-access=subscription |access-date=5 June 2021}}</ref> When McKinley died, [[Theodore Roosevelt]] was sworn in at the [[Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site|Wilcox Mansion]] in Buffalo.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Gee |first1=Derek |title=A Closer Look: Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural Site |url=https://buffalonews.com/multimedia/a-closer-look-theodore-roosevelt-inaugural-site/collection_cd666c13-cf48-5682-82dd-8a0de07e9690.html#3 |website=[[The Buffalo News]] |access-date=5 June 2021 |url-access=limited |language=en |date=February 24, 2021 |archive-date=6 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210606062654/https://buffalonews.com/multimedia/a-closer-look-theodore-roosevelt-inaugural-site/collection_cd666c13-cf48-5682-82dd-8a0de07e9690.html#3 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Attorney [[John G. Milburn|John Milburn]] and local industrialists convinced the [[Lackawanna Iron and Steel Company]] to relocate from [[Scranton, Pennsylvania]] to the town of [[West Seneca, New York|West Seneca]] in 1904. Employment was competitive, with many Eastern Europeans and Scrantonians vying for jobs.<ref name="Goldman1983 124-142" /> From the late 19th century to the 1920s, [[mergers and acquisitions]] led to distant ownership of local companies; this had a negative effect on the city's economy.<ref name = "Dillaway2006 25-39">{{Cite book |title=Power failure: politics, patronage, and the economic future of Buffalo, New York |chapter=Economic Power |pages=25–39 |last=Dillaway |first=Diana |date=2006 |publisher=[[Prometheus Books]] |isbn=978-1591024002 |location=Amherst, N.Y.}}</ref><ref name="Rundell1962 149-172" /> Examples include the acquisition of Lackawanna Steel by [[Bethlehem Steel]] and, later, the relocation of [[Curtiss-Wright]] in the 1940s.<ref name="Reitano2016">{{Cite book |last=Reitano |first=Joanne R. |url= |title=New York State: peoples, places, and priorities: a concise history with sources |date=2016 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=978-1-136-69997-9 |location=New York |chapter=The Stressed State: 1954–75 |pages=223–252 |oclc=918135120 |ref=Reitano2016 |access-date=}}</ref> The [[Great Depression]] saw severe unemployment, especially among the working class. [[New Deal]] relief programs operated in full force, and the city became a stronghold of labor unions and the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Plesur |first1=Milton |last2=Adler |first2=Selig |last3=Lansky |first3=Lewis |title=An American historian: essays to honor Selig Adler |date=1980 |publisher=[[State University of New York at Buffalo]] |location=Buffalo, N.Y. |pages=204–213 |chapter=Buffalo and the Great Depression, 1929–1933 |oclc=6984440}}</ref>

[[File:Thornberger hoists unloading ore, Lackawanna ore docks, Buffalo, N.Y. LC-D4-32179.jpg|thumb|alt=A black-and-white photograph of iron-ore rail cars at a ship dock|Iron ore unloaded at Buffalo, {{Circa|1900}}]]
During [[World War II]], Buffalo regained its manufacturing strength as military contracts enabled the city to manufacture steel, chemicals, aircraft, trucks and ammunition.<ref name="Reitano2016" /> The [[1950 United States census#City rankings|15th-most-populous US city in 1950]], Buffalo's economy relied almost entirely on manufacturing; eighty percent of area jobs were in the sector.<ref name="Reitano2016" /> The city also had over a dozen railway terminals, as railroads remained a significant industry.<ref name="Rundell1962 149-172">{{cite book |last1=Rundell |first1=Edwin F. |last2=Stein |first2=Charles W. |title=Buffalo: your city |chapter=Buffalo—Center of Commerce and Industry |pages=149–172 |date=1962 |publisher=Henry Stewart, Incorporated |edition=4th |oclc=3023258 |location=[[Buffalo and Erie County Public Library]]}}</ref>

The [[St. Lawrence Seaway]] was proposed in the 19th century as a faster shipping route to Europe, and later as part of a bi-national hydroelectric project with Canada.<ref name="Reitano2016" /> Its combination with an expanded [[Welland Canal]] led to a grim outlook for Buffalo's economy. After its 1959 opening, the city's port and barge canal became largely irrelevant. Shipbuilding in Buffalo wound down in the 1960s due to reduced waterfront activity, ending an industry which had been part of the city's economy since 1812.<ref name="Goldman1983 242-266">{{Cite book |title=High hopes: the rise and decline of Buffalo, New York |chapter=Paranoia: The Fear of Outsiders and Radicals During the 1950s and 1960s |pages=242–266 |last=Goldman |first=Mark |publisher=[[State University of New York Press]] |year=1983 |isbn=9780873957342 |location=Albany, N.Y. |oclc=09110713}}</ref> Downsizing of the steel mills was attributed to the threat of higher wages and unionization efforts.<ref name="Reitano2016" /> Racial tensions culminated in [[1967 Buffalo riot|riots in 1967]].<ref name="Reitano2016" /> [[Suburbanization]] led to the selection of the town of [[Amherst, New York|Amherst]] for the new [[University at Buffalo]] campus by 1970.<ref name="Reitano2016" /> Unwilling to modernize its plant, Bethlehem Steel began cutting thousands of jobs in Lackawanna during the mid-1970s before closing it in 1983.<ref name="Dillaway2006 25-39" /> The region lost at least 70,000 jobs between 1970 and 1984.<ref name="Dillaway2006 25-39" /> Like much of the [[Rust Belt]], Buffalo has focused on recovering from the effects of late-20th-century [[deindustrialization]].<ref name="Deindustrialization">{{cite journal |last1=Hobor |first1=George |title=Surviving the Era of Deindustrialization: The New Economic Geography of the Urban Rust Belt |journal=Journal of Urban Affairs |date=1 October 2013 |volume=35 |issue=4 |pages=417–434 |doi=10.1111/j.1467-9906.2012.00625.x |s2cid=154777044}}</ref>
{{wide image|Buffalo waterfront 1880.tif|700px|alt=Aerial view of downtown Buffalo and its waterfront in 1880|Panorama of downtown Buffalo and its waterfront in 1880|align-cap=center}}