Thanks to a successful partnership between county and conservancy, the largest of the Erie County parks has been experiencing a renaissance in recent years. Here we look at the park’s creation, decline and how it is bouncing back.

In 1794, George Washington promised the Seneca Nation that their land in the Allegheny Valley would be theirs forever, but floods and pollution in Pittsburgh caused later generations to renege on his promise.

In the late 1800s, piles of lumber stretched for miles as the Twin Cities of Tonawanda and North Tonawanda developed around the harbor and the surging lumber industry. 

Recently, Buffalo State College graduate student Emily Hamilton was part of a team which undertook a unique conservation challenge.  Their work on a piece of Grover Cleveland’s wedding cake and two associated boxes provides an interesting look into this unsung art.