Augustus S. Porter (January 18, 1769 – June 10, 1849) was an American businessman, judge, farmer, and politician who served as an Assemblyman for the state of

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Early life

Augustus Porter was born in Salisbury, Litchfield County, Connecticut, on January 18, 1769. He was one of six children born to Joshua and Abigail Buell. He attended public schools and learned surveying at an early age.

Career

Land and development

Porter first visited Niagara County in 1795, surveying land throughout

Western New York Western New York (WNY) is the westernmost region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The eastern boundary of the region is not consistently defined by state agencies or those who call themselves "Western New Yorkers". Almost all so ...

and

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. In 1796, the

Connecticut Land Company The Connecticut Company or Connecticut Land Company (est. 1795) was a post-colonial land speculation company formed in the late eighteenth century to survey and encourage settlement in the eastern parts of the newly chartered Connecticut Western ...

employed Porter as chief surveyor, with more than fifty assistants, to make the first survey of lands on the south shore of Lake Erie. In 1800, he moved to

Canandaigua Canandaigua () is a city in Ontario County, New York, United States. Its population was 10,576 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Ontario County; some administrative offices are at the county complex in the adjacent town of Hopewell. ...

, New York and in 1805, he and his brother, Peter Buell Porter (1773–1844), with whom he had business interests across a variety of industries, moved to Niagara Falls purchasing the land near

Niagara Falls Niagara Falls is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the Canada–United States border, border between the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York (s ...

, United States at a

public auction A government auction or a public auction is an auction held on behalf of a government in which the property to be auctioned is either property owned by the government or property which is sold under the authority of a court of law or a governmen ...

in order to open a business park. The land was ceded by the Seneca Nation to the State of New York in 1802. They named the property they bought and developed Manchester, after the English city, and the area was called Manchester up until 1840. This purchase also provided them with the acquisition of the water rights to the eastern rapids both above and below

. In 1803, they built the first sawmill and a productive paper mill on Bath Island. Around 1805, they had a grist mill and tannery operating that was built at "Joncairs' old ditch." However, the Porter brothers were forced out of business when the

Erie Canal The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east–west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigability, navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, ...

opened 20 years later. In 1825, the Porter brothers presented a prospectus, touting the economic advantages of developing Goat Island as an industrial site. It was a "situation... not surpassed, and probably not equaled, in the United States, as a site for the establishment of manufactures." "A thousand mills might be erected with the same ease, and equally accessible, as if on a plain; and each supplied with a never failing water-power." Around 1847, the brothers attempted to interest investors to develop power from the water drop of the falls by developing a "hydraulic raceway" for both power and transportation. Augustus' initial plan was to use the power generated in the 50 foot (15m) drop of the rapids above the falls, however he could not find any interested financiers.

Tourism

They also worked to develop the falls as a tourist attraction and in 1816, they purchased Goat Island from New York State. Working with engineer and hotel operator Gen. Parkhurst Whitney, they developed the first bridge from the mainland to Goat Island in 1818, the first staircase from Prospect Point to the base of the Falls in that same year, a ferry service across the river in 1820, and a whole series of gardens, walks, bridges, staircases, and other attractions, creating a picturesque and romanticized human garden, all mapped out, from which tourists could explore the spectacular natural beauty of the Falls in a semi-controlled environment.

Business

Between 1818 and 1822, Porter had a general store in Niagara, New York where he sold food, clothing, leather goods, candles, hardware, grain, lumber and liquors. In addition to the property they owned, businesses they started, and Niagara Falls water rights, they also owned several boats that traveled on the Great Lakes. In 1807, the Porters formed Porter, Barton, and Company to conduct a forwarding business from Oswego to the upper

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...

via the Portage Road around the Falls. As part of Porter, Barton, and Company, they established ports in

, Lewiston, and Black Rock.

Political office

Preceded in the position by his brother, Porter was elected as a

Democratic-Republican The Democratic-Republican Party (also referred to by historians as the Republican Party or the Jeffersonian Republican Party), was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early 1790s. It championed l ...

to the position of Assemblyman for the Genesee and Ontario district during the twenty-sixth session of the New York Assembly from July 1, 1802 – June 30, 1803. Porter later served as the first Judge in Niagara County and the first Postmaster of Niagara Falls.

Personal life

On March 10, 1796, Porter was married to Lavinia Steele. Together, they were the parents of one son: *

Augustus Seymour Porter Augustus Seymour Porter (January 18, 1798September 18, 1872) was a U.S. statesman from the state of Michigan. Early life He was born in Canandaigua, New York, the son of Augustus Porter (1769–1849) and his first wife, Lavinia Steele. His broth ...

(1798–1872), who married Sarah G. Barnard. After the death of his first wife, Porter married Jane Howell (1779–1841) on January 24, 1801. Together, they were the parents of five more children: * Albert Howell Porter (1801–1888), who married Julia Mathews (1808–1899), a descendant of

David Mathews David Mathews ( – July 28, 1800) was an American born British lawyer and politician from New York City. He was a Loyalist during the American Revolutionary War and was the 43rd and last Colonial Mayor of New York City from 1776 until 1783. As N ...

. * Peter Buell Porter Jr. (1806–1871), who did not marry * Lavinia E. Porter (1810–1863) * Baby Porter, who died in infancy. * Jane S. Porter (born 1816). Augustus built a house in Niagara Falls in 1808. After the British burned it in 1813, he rebuilt it on the same site in 1818. The Porter family home was demolished in the 1920s. The First Presbyterian Manse was built by or for his daughter Lavinia. ''See also:'' It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 2012. Porter died on June 10, 1849 (age 80 years, 4 years, and 21 days), in Niagara Falls, New York. He is

interred Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and object ...

at Oakwood Cemetery, Niagara Falls, Niagara County, New York.

Slavery

Porter and his family owned people in slavery. He reputedly brought the first African American family to Niagara Falls, Harry and Kate Wood. The 1800 census noted that one enslaved person lived in the household of Augustus Porter in Canandaigua, New York. In the 1820 census, the Wood family and the Abraham Thompson family, all free people of color, lived near the Porter family.Site description from Survey of Sites Relating to the Underground Railroad, Abolitionism, and African American Life in Niagara Falls and Surrounding Area, 1820–1880, by Judith Wellman, Ph.D., April 2012, pp. 42–44.

References

External links

Porter brothersAugustus Porter Collection, 1789-1908, bulk 1808-1818
an inventory at EmpireADC.org, courtesy of the Buffalo History Museum.
Augustus Porter Collection, 1789-1908
an inventory in PDF form, courtesy of The Buffalo History Museum. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Porter, Augustus American businesspeople 1769 births 1849 deaths People from Salisbury, Connecticut Politicians from Niagara Falls, New York 19th-century members of the New York State Legislature