Buffalo and Erie County Public Library

Photographs relating to the history of the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library over the past century.

Materials documenting the City of Buffalo and Niagara Frontier in 1825.

Buffalo City Directories from the early to late 19th century.

The City of Buffalo, N.Y. rapidly grew from a small village along Lake Erie to a bourgeoning industrial hub with the completion of the Erie Canal in 1825. The city later became a center for the Steel Industry and other manufacturing. New opportunities for work brought with it an influx of new residents to the city, which incorporated in 1832, starting with migrants from New England who claimed and worked the land after it was purchased from the Seneca by the Holland Land Company with the signing of the treaty of Big Tree in 1797. Waves of immigrants from Germany, Ireland, Poland & Italy arrived and settled in enclaves, first near the center of the city and waterfront, and later branching out as business and industry grew.  A small community of black residents settled in the city before the US Civil War as well, many thought to have escaped enslavement in the South.  As the population increased, churches, businesses, and community organizations developed to support the city’s migrant and immigrant populations, many of whom continued the cultural traditions of their homelands.  This exhibit celebrates the diverse people and cultures of early Buffalo and the legacy of migration and immigration to the area.    

The Buffalo Photograph Collection of lantern slides contains images of cityscapes, street views, events, and architecture in turn-of-the-century Buffalo.

A scrapbook containing newspaper clippings about the Buffalo Central Terminal at the time it first began operations.

Materials relating to Thomas Flyer automobiles and the New York to Paris Race in the early 20th century.

Scrapbooks containing newspaper clippings about the 1901 Pan-American Exposition held in Buffalo, New York.

Photographs of Buffalo and Western New York during the 19th and early 20th centuries collected by George Nathan Newman.

Letters relating to the War of 1812 in New York.