PORTAGE ROAD
FOLLOWING THE FOOTSTEPS OF THE FAMOUS
Along this very road Native Americans, explorers, traders, and soldiers
passed for centuries to get around the Niagara Falls and Gorge.
Merchants cashed in on trade goods, troops fought for safe passage, and
the first railway in North America was built to carry goods up and down
the Niagara Escarpment.
1650
The Seneca Nation took control of the portage from the Neutral Nation.
The Neutrals were the first permanent settlers by the Niagara River.
Before them the Hopewell people and nomads had used the portage.
1679
French explorer La Salle portaged around the falls and built a ship on
the bank of the river near Cayuga Creek, The Griffon, in which he
explored the upper Great Lakes.
1720
Chabert Joncaire, a French trader, built a trading post at the lower
landing near present day Lewiston. The Senecas were employed to carry
goods over the portage.
1759
British forces took control of Fort Niagara and the portage. They built
a tramway at the escarpment and used carriages to carry the goods over
the road to the upper river. The Senecas were no longer employed.
1777
American companies lead by Augustus and Peter Porter, Benjamin Barton,
and Joseph Annin leased and managed the portage after the American
Revolution, hotels and taverns were built along the route, and the falls
began to attract tourists.
1813
British troops seized the route and burned most of the buildings on the
American side of the Niagara River during the War of 1812. Americans
regained control after the war. The opening of the Erie Canal in 1825
made the portage route obsolete. The route became Portage Road, the
street that you drive and walk on today.
NIAGARA ESCARPMENT
The same geologic feature responsible for the falls had to be climbed to
get to navigable waters upstream. From the top of the 250’ high
escarpment, the portage road extended south southeast about 7 miles to
the river above the falls.
GATEWAY TO THE CONTINENT’S INTERIOR
The Niagara River was the primary route of travel from Lake Ontario to
Lake Erie and the interior of the continent. The Niagara Falls and Gorge
were the major obstacles around which boats and goods
had to be carried.
Niagara Arts & Cultural Center
1201 Pine Avenue, Niagara Falls, NY 14303
Phone: (716) 282-7530
Website: Click Here
