Timeline of Buffalo, New York explained

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Buffalo, New York, United States.

Prior to 18th century

• 1620 - Erie Nation occupies area
• 1651 - Seneca Nation destroys Erie Nation
• 1679 - La Salle built Fort Conti and launched Le Griffon.
• 1687 - Marquis de Denonville built Fort Denonville at the mouth of the river.

18th century

• 1784 - Area known as the Buffalo Creek region.
• 1793 - Holland Land Purchase is completed

19th century

1800s-1860s

• 1801 - Buffalo is founded by Joseph Ellicott.
• 1810 - Population: 1,508.
• 1811 - Buffalo Gazette newspaper begins publication.^[1]
• 1813 - December 30: Battle of Buffalo fought during the War of 1812.^[2]
• 1816 - Village incorporated in Niagara County.
• 1818 - Walk-in-the-Water Great Lakes passenger steamboat begins operating. It was named after Walk-in-the-Water a Huron chief.
• 1820 - Population: 2,095.
• 1821 - Buffalo designated seat of newly created Erie County.
• 1825 - Erie Canal opens.^[3]
• 1830 - Population: 8,668.
• 1832
  • City of Buffalo incorporated.
  • Ebenezer Johnson served as the first Mayor.
• 1833 - Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway established.
• 1834 - Cholera.
• 1835 - November 11: "Cyclone" occurs.
• 1836
  • Young Men's Association active.^{[4] [5]}
  • Buffalo Library (social library) organized.^[6]
• 1840 - Population: 18,213.
• 1842 - Joseph Dart invented the Dart's Elevator, a steam-powered grain elevator.
• 1844 - A seiche on Lake Erie sends a 22feet surge of water onshore, killing 78 people.^[7]
• 1846 - University of Buffalo and its Medical School established.
• 1847 - Roman Catholic Diocese of Buffalo established.^[8]
• 1848 - June: 1848 Free Soil Party national convention held in Buffalo; Martin Van Buren nominated as U.S. presidential candidate.
• 1849 - Forest Lawn Cemetery established.
• 1850 - Population: 42,261.
• 1851
  • St. Paul's Cathedral built.
  • Buffalo Seminary founded.
• 1852 - Metropolitan Theatre is built and opens.^[9]
• 1853 - New York Central Railroad in operation.
• 1854 - YMCA U.S. branch organized in Buffalo.
• 1856
  • Chippewa Market opens.
  • Manufacturers and Traders Bank in business.
• 1858 - Broadway Arsenal opened.
• 1860 - Population: 81,129.
• 1861
  • Buffalo Society of Natural Sciences founded.^[10]
  • St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute founded.
• 1862 - Buffalo Historical Society formed.
• 1863 - St. Joseph Cathedral consecrated.
• 1868 - Metropolitan Theatre is renovated and re-opens as the Academy of Music^[9]

1870s-1890s

• 1870
  • Richardson Olmsted Complex built.
  • Roman Catholic (Jesuit) Canisius College founded.
  • Population: 117,714.
• 1871 - Buffalo Normal School founded, became "State Normal and Training School"
• 1873
  • Church of St. Stanislaus, Bishop and Martyr established.
  • International Railway Bridge to Canada opens.
  • Buffalo Sunday Morning News begins publication.
• 1874 - "The number of ships built at Buffalo was thirty-seven."
• 1875
  • County and City Hall constructed.
  • Population: 134,238.
• 1876
  • Delaware Park–Front Park System developed.
  • Delaware Avenue Methodist Episcopal Church built.
• 1880 - Population: 155,134.
• 1881 - Architect Louise Blanchard Bethune in business.
• 1882 - Grover Cleveland becomes mayor.
• 1886
  • Westinghouse AC electrical power station begins operating.
  • University of Buffalo School of Pharmacy established.
• 1887 - University at Buffalo Law School established.
• 1890 - Population: 255,664.
• 1892 - University of Buffalo School of Dental Medicine established.
• 1893
  • Buffalo and Susquehanna Railroad in operation.^[11]
  • Former mayor Grover Cleveland becomes U.S. president.
• 1894 - Twentieth Century Club founded.
• 1896 - Ellicott Square Building completed.
• 1899 - Labor strike of grain workers.^[12]
• 1900
  • Manufacture of Thomas Auto-Bi motorcycle begins.
  • Population: 352,387.

20th century

• 1901
  • May 1: Pan-American Exposition opens in Delaware Park.^[13]
  • September 6: Assassination of William McKinley, U.S. president.^[14]
  • September 14: Inauguration of Theodore Roosevelt as U.S. president.
  • September 23–24: Trial of assassin Leon Czolgosz held.
• 1902 - YMCA Central Building built.
• 1905 - Albright Art Gallery (of modern art) opens.^[15]
• 1908
  • D'Youville College founded.
  • Hotel Statler in business (first in chain).
• 1910 - Population: 423,715.
• 1914 - Art Theater in business.^[16]
• 1917 - December 9: Snowstorm.
• 1919
  • The new Erie Canal was rebuilt as a barge canal.
  • Rivoli Theatre in business.
• 1920
  • University at Buffalo raised an endowment of $5m. by popular subscription.
  • Population: 506,775.
• 1921 - Loew's State Theatre in business.
• 1922 - WGR radio begins broadcasting.
• 1923 - On February 24, Phi Omega chapter of the National Omega Psi Phi fraternity was chartered at University of New York at Buffalo as first African American Greek-Lettered Fraternity established in western New York.
• 1924
  • DuPont cellophane manufactory begins operating.
  • WEBR radio begins broadcasting.
• 1926
  • Buffalo Courier-Express newspaper in publication (ceased 1982).
  • Buffalo Niagara International Airport, then known as "Buffalo Municipal Airport", opens in nearby Cheektowaga
  • Shea's Performing Arts Center opens.
• 1927 - Peace Bridge to Canada opens.
• 1929 - Buffalo Museum of Science and Buffalo Central Terminal open to public.
• 1932 - Buffalo City Hall built.
• 1936 - Coin-operated Launder-Ur-Own laundromat in business.
• 1940 - Buffalo Memorial Auditorium opened
• 1948 - WBEN-TV (television) begins broadcasting.
• 1950 - Population: 580,132.
• 1953 - New zoning laws include parking minimums, these new zoning laws are a factor in the decline of Buffalo over the following decades.
• 1954 - WGR-TV (television) begins broadcasting.
• 1960 - Buffalo Bills Football Inaugural Season. Team is second professional team with the name and the third professional football franchise in the city.
• 1966
  • January: Blizzard.^[17]
  • Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site established.
• 1967 - Race riot occurs in East Buffalo as part of Long, hot summer of 1967
• 1970
  • Buffalo Sabres Hockey Inaugural Season
  • Buffalo Braves Basketball Inaugural Season. Team plays 8 seasons in Buffalo before relocating to San Diego and later Los Angeles to become the Los Angeles Clippers
• 1971
  • February 22: Blizzard.
  • Erie Community College Buffalo campus established.
• 1977 - January: Blizzard of '77.
• 1979
  • Buffalo and Erie County Naval & Military Park established.
  • Amtrak closes Buffalo Central Terminal, redirecting passenger rail service to the Exchange Street and Depew stations
• 1984 -
  • Buffalo Metro Rail begins service
  • Republic Steel shutters South Buffalo mill
• 1988 - Sahlen Field (then known as "Pilot Field") opens, replacing War Memorial Stadium
• 1989 - Western New York Documentary Heritage Program headquartered in Buffalo.
• 1990 - Population: 328,123.
• 1996
  • KeyBank Center (then named Marine Midland Center) opens, replacing the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium
  • City website online (approximate date).^{[18] [19]}

21st century

• 2000 - Population: 292,648
• 2001
  • Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus established
  • December: Snowstorm.
• 2005
  • Byron Brown becomes mayor.
  • Brian Higgins becomes U.S. representative for New York's 27th congressional district.^[20]
• 2006 - October 13: Lake Storm "Aphid"
• 2008 - Canalside, then named Erie Canal Harbor, reopens to public after early phase of redevelopment work.^[21]
• 2010 - Population: 261,310.^[22]
• 2014 - November 17–20: "Snowvember" snowstorm.
• 2017
  • Minimum parking requirements were eliminated citywide in order to revitalize the city after decades of decline.
  • Tesla, Inc. opens Giga New York solar panel factory on old Republic Steel site
• 2020
  • Population: 278,349, Buffalo finally gains population again after 70 years.^[23]
  • Buffalo police shoving incident occurs as part of George Floyd protests
• 2022
  • May 14: The deadliest shooting in the city's 221-year history occurs. 13 people are shot, and 10 of them die.^[24]
  • December 23 - 27: A snowstorm kills 41 people, becoming the deadliest snowstorm in the city's history.
• 2023
  • Mayor Byron Brown begins his 5th term, becoming the longest-serving mayor of Buffalo.
  • A magnitude 3.8 earthquake affects the Buffalo area in February.

See also

• History of Buffalo, New York
• On This Day Calendar by The Buffalo History Museum
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Buffalo, New York
• Timelines of other cities in New York state: New York City (also Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens); Saratoga Springs

Bibliography

• • Book: Gazetteer of the State of New York . J. Disturnell . 1842. Buffalo City . 91–93.
    • Book: Bibliotheca Americana . Joseph Sabin . Joseph Sabin . New York . 1870 . 13972268 . 3 . Buffalo . Bibliotheca Americana . 2027/nyp.33433082126743 .
  • Buffalo (2.) . 4 . 443 . 1878 . . 1.
  • Book: History of the City of Buffalo . 1908. Buffalo Evening News. .
  • Buffalo (city) . 4 . 754 - 756 . 1910 . . 1.
• Buffalo . 30 . Wilner . Merton Merriman . 1922 . . 1.
  • • • Book: Paul T. Hellmann. Historical Gazetteer of the United States. 2006. Taylor & Francis. 1-135-94859-3. New York: Buffalo. .
• Web site: 175 Years: Celebrating the Incorporation of the City of Buffalo, 1832-2007 . Buffalo History Museum . 2007 .
• Web site: https://web.archive.org/web/20181118152228/http://us-cities.survey.okfn.org/place/buffalo . Buffalo, NY . November 18, 2018 . U.S. City Open Data Census . . 2018 .

External links

• Web site: Online Collections . Buffalo History Museum . (Includes atlases, city directories, etc.)
• Web site: Directories: Buffalo . New York Heritage . Empire State Library Network .
• Items related to Buffalo, New York, various dates (via Digital Public Library of America)
• Web site: Buffalo, New York in Maps, Charts, and Images . Research Guides . University at Buffalo Libraries .

Notes and References

1. Web site: US Newspaper Directory . Washington DC . . Library of Congress . May 4, 2017 .
2. Book: Laurence Urdang. Laurence Urdang. Timetables of American History . 1996 . Touchstone . 978-0-7432-0261-9.
3. Book: Quentin R. Skrabec, Jr. . 100 Most Significant Events in American Business: an Encyclopedia. 2012. Greenwood . 978-0-313-39862-9.
4. 1837-
5. Web site: Archival and Manuscript Collections . University at Buffalo Libraries . May 4, 2017 .
6. Web site: American Libraries before 1876 . Davies Project . Princeton University . May 4, 2017 .
7. News: Sara. Meehan. Oct. 18, 1844: 'Great flood of 1844' devastates Buffalo. The Buffalo News. October 18, 2014. January 29, 2024. subscription.
8. Web site: Chronology of Catholic Dioceses: USA . . Norway . May 4, 2017 .
9. Book: Mingus, Nancy Blumenstalk. Buffalo: Good Neighbors, Great Architecture. 2003. Arcadia Publishing. 9780738524498. 60.
10. Book: Directory of Historical Organizations in the United States and Canada . 2002 . 15th . 0759100020 . American Association for State and Local History . New York . Rowman Altamira .
11. Book: Peter Eisenstadt . Encyclopedia of New York State. 2005. Syracuse University Press. 978-0-8156-0808-0.
12. Book: Aaron Brenner . Benjamin Day . Immanuel Ness . Immanuel Ness . Encyclopedia of Strikes in American History. 2015 . 2009 . Routledge. 978-1-317-45707-7 . Timeline .
13. Book: Ernie Gross. This Day in American History. 1990. Neal-Schuman . 978-1-55570-046-1.
14. News: New York Times . On This Day . May 4, 2017 .
15. Book: Patrick Robertson. Robertson's Book of Firsts . 2011. Bloomsbury . 978-1-60819-738-5.
16. Web site: Movie Theaters in Buffalo, NY . CinemaTreasures.org . Cinema Treasures LLC . Los Angeles . May 4, 2017 .
17. Web site: This Day in Weather History . . Aberdeen, South Dakota . May 1, 2017 .
18. Web site: https://web.archive.org/web/19960224032211/http://www.ci.buffalo.ny.us/ . dead . Welcome to City of Buffalo . February 24, 1996 . .
19. Web site: https://web.archive.org/web/20000925074055/http://www.officialcitysites.org/NewYork/Cities/B/ . United States of America: New York . dead . September 25, 2000 . Official City Sites . Kevin Hyde . Tamie Hyde . Utah . 40169021 .
20. Book: Official Congressional Directory . Washington, D.C. . Government Printing Office . 2005 . New York . Official Congressional Directory . 1991/1992- : S. Pub. . 2027/mdp.49015002997139 .
21. Web site: 2008-07-02 . ERIE CANAL HARBOR OFFICIALLY OPENS TO PUBLIC . 2020-06-28 . Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation.
22. Web site: Buffalo city, New York . QuickFacts . U.S. Census Bureau . May 4, 2017 .
23. Web site: 2021-08-13 . What census numbers could mean for WNY . 2021-08-13 . WKBW . en.
24. News: 2022-05-14 . 10 people killed in a racially motivated mass shooting at a Buffalo supermarket, police say. The 18-year-old suspect is in custody . CNN . 2022-05-15.