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    Batavia
    Batavia
    Batavia
    Ebook157 pages27 minutes

    Batavia

    By Barbara Ann Toal

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    About this ebook

    Located midway between Buffalo and Rochester, Batavia was an important area hundreds of years before Columbus arrived in America. Two long Indian trails converged here at what is known as the Great Meeting Place: one leading from Lake Erie to the Hudson River and the other from Lake Erie to the Susquehanna River. With more than 200 stunning images, Batavia recounts the history of the area from the early settlement at the Great Bend of the Ton-ne-wan-ta to the vibrant city that Batavia is today. The book tells the story of the Holland Land Company and its connection to the American Revolution; the railroads and their importance to the
    industrial growth of the city; and the urban renewal of the later 1900s, as well as the more current architectural restoration projects.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArcadia Publishing
    Release dateAug 28, 2000
    ISBN9781439610572
    Batavia
    Author

    Barbara Ann Toal

    Author Barbara Ann Toal, an employee of the City of Batavia, is affiliated with the Holland Land Office and the Genesee County History Department. She received many of the images and stories for Batavia from local citizens who generously opened their homes and collections to her, as well as from the Holland Land Office and the Genesee County History Department. Selecting the best photographs, postcards, and drawings, she blended them with detailed narrative to produce a work that is sure to fascinate and enlighten both young and old.

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      Book preview

      Batavia - Barbara Ann Toal

      Batavia.

      INTRODUCTION

      This pictorial journey blends photographs, postcards, and drawings to recount Batavia’s history from the early 1700s, when Indian trails converged at the Great Meeting Place, to the vibrant city that Batavia is today.

      The area was important hundreds of years before Columbus arrived in America. Over the centuries it has been called by at least six different names. Among its earlier names were Jo-a-ki, meaning raccoon, Ton-nor-aun-to, meaning swift running water, Je-ne-an-da-sase-geh, meaning mosquito, and Deo-on-go-wa, or the Great Meeting Place, so called because it was the junction of two great Indian trails, one leading from Lake Erie to the Hudson River and the other from Lake Erie to the Susquehanna River.

      When the Europeans came, they called the place "the Great Bend of the Ton-ne-wan-ta. The current name, Batavia, was chosen by Joseph Ellicott, local agent of the Holland Land Company; it was once the name of the Netherlands. Batavia would have been named Bustiville, after Paolo Busti, the general agent of the Holland Land Company. Busti, however, refused to allow the place to be named in his honor.

      In the chapters that follow, are glimpses of the American Revolution, the War of 1812, the Great Depression, and the two world wars. Also inside are economic growth that came with the railroad, the impact of the automobile, and the responses of the community to the growth in population.

      The railroad brought Batavia industries to their peak in the early 1900s, as all trains stopped here to load and unload. As highways improved, the city’s central location between Rochester and Buffalo became key. Today, the city has an abundance of parks and recreational opportunities, and stands at the junction of Routes 5, 33, 63 and 98—all meeting at the Holland Land Office and the bend of the Tonawanda Creek.

      This map shows the central area of Batavia.

      One

      EARLY INHABITANTS, EARLY DEVELOPMENT

      The Tonawanda Creek is the historical focal point of Batavia. This was where Joseph Ellicott, the founder of Batavia, decided to start surveying lands. Another name for the creek was Tonnewanta, which means the bend. Oddly enough, the name Tonawanda signifies swiftly running water, even though for most of its course the stream is a sluggish one.

      The Iroquois trails ran alongside the creek, providing access to not only fresh water but also fresh fish. The trails were used by a number of different tribes who traveled here from their villages, which were scattered throughout this area. The region was heavily wooded and, therefore, offered ideal hunting grounds with a plentiful supply of food.

      This is the famous bend in the Tonawanda Creek. According to Indian folklore, at the great bend stood an ancient town called Deo-on-go-wa, meaning the Great Meeting Place. The Tonawanda Creek rises in Wyoming County. It enters the town of Alexander from the south and

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