As the railroads grew, they became the main mode of transport before the days of streetcars and personal automobiles. Buffalonians rode the train to work and could connect to anywhere in the nation. Rails also brought the nation to Buffalo for the 1901 Pan American Exhibition. Find out how in this post.
There’s no doubt that the Erie Canal put Buffalo on the map and started the city’s rapid growth in the first half of the 18th century. Once the steam engine became readily available, the canal just couldn’t compete. This post describes how the speed and flexibility of the railroads eventually overtook the canal in the second half of the nineteenth century and beyond.
As the Erie Canal brought people and goods to – and through – Buffalo, the city continued to grow. But the lake boats could not travel on the canal and canal barges would not last long on the lake. Storage was needed for goods in transit. Read about Joseph Dart’s solution for grain storage in this post.
Buffalo, New York has a long history as a busy industrial city. Thanks to its location on one of the Great Lakes and the decision of New York state to build a canal, Buffalo grew rapidly. Read about the very beginning – and the effect on the growth of our country in this post.