West Side street names a matter of history

By Sashana Campbell and Andrew Manzella
Bengal News West Reporters

What's in a name?

If it’s a street name on the West Side, it may consist of a rich history of trade, family legacy and geography.

Many streets were named after early landowners, family and friends or for political purposes that had  nationalistic underpinnings to them.

Porter Avenue, as an example, was named after Peter Porter, who was one of the Village of Black Rock’s founders. Anything north of Huron Street to Riverside neighborhood was considered to be the   Village of Black Rock. 

"Buffalo at that time  had a series of large country estates,” said Dana Saylor, a professional historical researcher in Buffalo. “A lot of the names are related to the estates of the people who founded the city or had a lot of money.”

According to Saylor, the Porter family, who settled on Niagara and Breckenridge Street, lived on the land where Rich Products now resides.

Fargo Avenue was named after William Fargo, who was a former mayor of Buffalo and one of the owners of Wells Fargo Bank, according to Chris Hawley, a Buffalo urban planner at City Hall.

“He owned the estate that Fargo (Avenue)  bounds, so I’m sure that when the estate was broken the street was named Fargo,” Hawley said.

A video primer on street names in Buffalo: 

According to Hawley, in the 19^th century, a lot of family-owned lots were farms that took up several blocks. Saylor said those families would break up the land and sell it off during immigration waves or population booms.

“They named them after whatever they wanted to name them for. Sometimes they would name them after sons or daughters, good friends or business partners,” Hawley said.

One example is Breckenridge Street, which was named for one of Porter’s in-laws from Kentucky.

In an article published in The Courier Express newspaper, changes to street names started occurring in 1826 around Buffalo when highway commissioners decided to wipe out unwieldy names.

Saylor said Niagara Street used to be called Shimmelpenninck Avenue and was changed in the early 19th century.

A number of streets on the West Side are also named after states, like Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Virginia and Connecticut.

Hawley said naming city streets after states is an urban tradition across the United States.

“Probably every early 19^th century city has it,” Hawley said. “We were a very early republic at the time so reinforcing our patriotism and sense of nationhood was very important in place names throughout the country.”

Another reason was the early surveyors of Buffalo, who were responsible for a lot of modern street names throughout the city, were workers from the State of New York.  This is why so many other state names were used.

“Often, when streets were officially named, the reason was not recorded in the minutes of the common council,” Hawley said.  “Many streets were named, and now it’s a complete mystery as to why.”

West Side community supports Ukraine

By Jamie Hall, Kamesha Jones and Jazmina Rivera
Bengal News West reporters

Members of the West Side Ukrainian community were among those who marched across the Peace Bridge to meet their fellow Canadian comrades in a peaceful protest against the violence that many activists were facing in Kiev, Ukraine in December.

Four months later, Russia has annexed Crimea and the Ukraine has conceded and is facing  more challenges. Buffalo activists continue to be concerned about Ukraine's future and standing by to help. 

A strong community movement on the West Side  continues to provide supplies for Ukrainian efforts. Anyone who wishes to support Ukraine’s cause is welcome to make  contributions that will fund Ukrainian organizations that help those in need of basic resources or medical attention. Organizations are also accepting warm clothing to send to the activist in Ukraine. 

“In times of crisis and uncertainty people want to come together,” Dianna Derhak, member of the Dnipro Ukrainian Cultural Center said. “Alone there’s very little you can do, but if you start joining together things do change.” 

When Slavka Kutsay, a student activist and journalist arrived in Buffalo in March she sparked conversation of the realities of activism in times of conflict. Kutsay shared stories at SUNY Buffalo State on March 3 about her experiences as a peacefulprotester during the ongoing conflict in her country.

“Someone called it the revolution of dignity,” Kutsay said. “One of Ukrainian poets said that ‘It is better to be a drop in the ocean, rather than to be a drop of blood in the asphalt.’ ”

Organizations have been following the conflict and setting up ways to show their advocacy in the West Side. Yuri Hreshchyshyn, president of the Ukrainian-American CivicCenter,  has been involved with at least three peaceful protests.

“The first thought was to do a quick positive, supportive rally in front of City Hall,” Hreshchyshyn said. “We organized that in about a week’s time and walked around Niagara Square, so that was the first one.”

Yuri Hreshchyshyn, on the local response to Ukraine's plight:

Derhak helped organize the second demonstration, held on the Peace Bridge. The idea was to have both the Canadian and the American group of supporters meet at the bridge at the same time. Although there were dangerous weather conditions in Canada, supporters still came out for the cause.

“The weather was horrific that day,” Derhak said. “Our Canadian friends had an ice storm and electricity was out. Even though the winds were whipping us around we had a very nice turn out.”

 Members of both the Ukrainian-American Civic Center and Dnipro Ukrainian Cultural Center attended the rally as well as members of the Ukrainian Congress of America and congregations of Ukrainian affiliated churches in the area.

A third rally was held on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls. American advocates gathered for this one as well.

Along with non-violent protests, social media has helped in gathering people to join in peaceful activism. During her lecture Kutsay mentioned how important social media platforms, such as Twitter and Facebook, have had a huge impact on bringing awareness to others. Things such as sharing Facebook posts or re-tweeting news, videos, or pictures can help the cause. Hreschyshyn believes that traditional media still makes an impact as well.

“Well social media is good to get a message across quickly,” Hreschyshyn said. “It takes the weight of traditional press to make something more tangible for the general population.”