On this day, April 13th, 1853, 40 years of rivalry ended when Buffalo was granted its victory annexation of neighboring Black Rock. The balance of power was not always this way. Black Rock thrived for roughly fourteen years, even before it’s neighbor, Buffalo, became incorporated as a village.
Black Rock centers on Hertel Avenue and Niagara Street along the Black Rock Canal. Now it’s part of history lore, but once there actually was a colossal black rock (Onondaga limestone) in Black Rock. It was located on the river at the bend of Niagara Street at Massachusetts, the area under the Peace Bridge. A black rock ledge protruded approximately 200 feet out into the river. It stood five feet above the water’s surface, forming a natural eddy on the river. Hence, the area downstream of the rock was protected by its mass, and therefore served as a naturally protected harbor.
The two towns of Buffalo and Black Rock were almost instantaneous and hearty rivals. Things were booming in either direction, and a race was formed to be premiere, one over the other. The Holland Land Company owned the land on which Buffalo is located, and so marketed the area as a desirable place to settle. Black Rock, on the other hand, stood on land owned by the state, which was reluctance to effectively market the new town. Therefore many of the early pioneers overlooked Black Rock and settled in Buffalo, resulting in its somewhat stunted level of growth.
Construction of the Erie Canal ensued with territorial questions as to its terminus, resulting in accelerated debate and competition between the two towns. Black Rock was superior for its natural harbor and touted the fact that Buffalo, with a sandbar blocking the entrance to Buffalo Creek, lacked a suitable harbor.
Led by Samuel Wilkeson, the people of Buffalo immediately organized, and they constructed a pier and dredged the entrance to the creek. As work neared completion in 1821, the state selected Buffalo as the western terminus of the canal.
This act demoted Black Rock to just another little town alongside the canal, and shot Buffalo’s worth to world trade eminence. Finally, on August 9th, 1823 the canal arrived in Black Rock as construction there began. Standing in the path of the canal was the mighty ‘black rock’, a symbol from which the town took its name. Little by little, the Irish workers blasted away at the rock, leaving only the memory of it behind.
Black Rock and Buffalo started to link in 1834 when trolley service joined the two villages. In the 1850’s, with Black Rock’s economic condition deteriorated, serious talk of merging the two villages began. On April 13th, 1853 the New York State Legislature granted Buffalo a new city charter allowing for the annexation of Black Rock. Thereafter, the Village of Black Rock ceased to be a separate entity, and remained, forever after, a west side neighbor of its victor city.
Image from Chuck LaChiusa’s Buffalo Architecture and History
Bill Zimmermann
Bill runs Seven Seas Sailing school, and is a staunch waterfront activist. He is also heavily involved with preserving, maintaining, and promoting the South Buffalo Lighthouse. When Bill first started writing for Buffalo Rising, he wrote an article a day for 365 days - each article coincided with a significant historic event that happened in Buffalo on that same day.