More than a namesake, the swift-moving Niagara River has shaped the arc of the Tonawandas for as long as people have called here home.

From the mid 1860s, the prime location of North Tonawanda on the Erie Canal sparked the trade in timber that would earn the city its moniker “The Lumber City.” By 1870, lumber from the entire region went through North Tonawanda before being distributed.

Most of the land near the river in North Tonawanda was singularly dedicated to the lumber industry, with the entire area from Webster Street to River Road stacked high with boards waiting to be shipped through the canal.

“All of the lumber from the upper Great Lakes had to pass through the Tonawandas on its way through the Erie Canal to New York City and the rest of the world,” said City of Tonawanda Historian Ned Schimminger.

From then to now, the beatific sunsets and vast commercial potential presented by the Niagara River has been variously enjoyed, exploited, utilized and squandered. Its story and that of the town and Twin Cities nestled on its southern shore are inextricably linked.

A tall start

Plenty of other industries followed the lumber trade to North Tonawanda, including the Tonawanda Ironworks, Tonawanda Paper Mill, Buffalo Bolt and what would eventually become the Allan Herschell Co., which produced its famous carrousels. By the time the St. Lawrence Seaway opened in 1909 and began to legitimately compete with the Tonawandas for lumber traffic, the area had an industrial base that would last for decades.

Along the Town of Tonawanda’s coast, immigrants who had come to the area through the canal set up family farms. Those tracts of land ran a mile deep from the river and provided the eventual space for expansive industrial development that would come in the early part of the 20th century, said Town Historian John Percy.

In 1916, the Huntley power plant began supplementing the power produced by Niagara Falls and created an abundance of power for the heavy industry that then sprang up nearby. But the availability of power was only part of the appeal of developing near the shore, Percy said.

“The riverfront made several types of transportation available,” Percy said. “There was the canal, river boats and the railroad that really lent themselves to heavy industry. Then later the Thruway was another means of moving goods.”

Many businesses also needed large amounts of water, making the shore locations desirable. After the 1920s, town fathers recognized the turning industrial tide and passed zoning laws to keep large factories out of other parts of the town.

As newer steam ships that could overcome the Niagara River’s current were created, the stretch of canal that ran parallel to the river became obsolete. By 1920, steamers were using the river to get from North Tonawanda to Buffalo and much of the unused stretch of canal had been filled in with garbage, said Dick Dutton, member of the Historical Society of the Tonawandas. The area of canal that once ran through the City of Tonawanda’s coast is now the basis for Niawanda Park in the City of Tonawanda.

The Great Depression of the 1920s and 30s hit the Tonawandas, but expansions of industrial manufacturers like DuPont, Eastern Petroleum Products and the Flewlume Company in 1931 helped ease the effects in the area. A later influx of new businesses, most notably General Motors in 1937, also helped secure the town’s economic base through the nation’s troubled economic times.

Downturn in fortunes

Waterfront development slowed in the 1950s, mostly limited to the expansion of existing businesses. But pressure from environmental organizations would soon hamper growth even further and drive several large-scale polluters to leave town rather than invest in more compliant technology.

The 1960s and 1970s saw cutbacks in most of the industries that once thrived in the Tonawandas. Buffalo Bolt shuttered its factory in 1959, leaving 850 workers without jobs, and the Tonawanda Ironworks closed its doors for good in 1972. The Tonawanda Paper Mill on Tonawanda Island shut down in 1976, with owners citing high operating costs, low fiber supply and space availability problems on the island. Despite several attempts by local groups to purchase and reopen the facility, the mill was gone for good.

The Town of Tonawanda also saw an exodus of several large plants, including Allegheny Ludlum Steel, Farrell-Birmingham and Lake Erie Engineering Corporation. Rising labor and material costs forced Wickwire-Spencer to close its doors in 1963 as well, costing 1,400 jobs. Selmet-Solvay, a company that produced coke for local steel forges, bowed out of the area in 1977 citing pressure to control emissions as the cause. Rather than update its now 57-year-old facility, Selmet-Solvay relocated to Kentucky and Michigan.

But even during this rough period, the news wasn’t all bad for the town. New companies took over many of the vacant facilities, keeping them on the tax rolls. Large industrial facilities like Dunlop, DuPont and General Motors invested heavily in the town and expanded their facilities. Trucking companies established terminals in the town after the opening of the I-290 in 1965.

Contact reporter Daniel Pyeat 693-1000, ext. 158.