Archive - WNY Heritage

To Serve the Lord in the Old Familiar Way: The 1843 Prussian Migration to Niagara County

When the unification of the state church in Prussia created dissent among many Lutherans, large numbers of them emigrated to Western New York.

World Champion Team: The Buffalo Germans

Before the Sabres, the Bills and even the Braves, Buffalo rallied behind another group of all-stars: the turn-of-the-century Buffalo Germans basketball team.

The Wong Family of Buffalo and the Chinese Exclusion Act

The story of one local family illustrates how an entire group of people nationwide were impacted by a series of unjust immigration restrictions.

West Seneca’s Community of True Inspiration

In the mid-19th century, the Ebenezer Society settled in Western New York. Though they left after just 20 years, their legacy can still be felt throughout present-day West Seneca.

Pictorial

Canal Slum-- 1936

January 6, 1936, rear of Le Couteulx Street in the Canal district. A New Year's Day blast destroyed the building that formerly occupied the vacant plot in the foreground, killing 5 persons.

Pictorial

509 Michigan Street

View of 509 Michigan Street, Buffalo, ca. 1996.

Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz

Touring the American wilderness required an adventurous spirit in the early-19th century. Polish noblemen, poet and politician Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz had just that in 1805 when he visited Western New York, highlighting Niagara Falls and Buffalo in his journal. Niemcewicz's account provides valuable insight into the area more than 200 years ago.

Louis Le Couteulx, Gentleman

Louis Le Couteulx stood out among the early settlers. The adventurous representative of a famed French family was the first Catholic to settle in Buffalo. He was also the first philanthropist.

Western New York Heritage

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