The Niagara Frontier refers to the stretch of land in the United States that is south of

Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The Canada–United Sta ...

and north of

Lake Erie Lake Erie ( ) is the fourth-largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and also has the shortest avera ...

, and extends westward to

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

. The term dates to the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

, when the northern border was in contention between the United States and British forces in Canada. It refers only to the land east of the

Niagara River The Niagara River ( ) flows north from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario, forming part of the border between Ontario, Canada, to the west, and New York, United States, to the east. The origin of the river's name is debated. Iroquoian scholar Bruce T ...

and north of

within the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The western side of the

, on the

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

side, is the Niagara Peninsula; it is considered part of the Golden Horseshoe. The Niagara Frontier is part of the region known as

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 ...

State. The Niagara Frontier also forms the eastern part of the

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 ...

North Coast. Its southeastern boundary forms what is known as ski country, as it includes the northernmost area of the Appalachian Mountain foothills. The

National Weather Service The National Weather Service (NWS) is an Government agency, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that is tasked with providing weather forecasts, warnings of hazardous weather, and other weathe ...

office in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

defines the Niagara Frontier as the following: * Erie County, New York north of US 20A – includes

* Niagara County, New York – includes

Niagara Falls, New York Niagara Falls is a City (New York), city in Niagara County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a total population of 48,671. It is adjacent to the Niagara River, across from the city of Niagar ...

* Orleans County, New York * Genesee County, New York – includes Batavia, New York Other, less common, definitions may include the following areas: * Erie County, NY south of US 20A (also known as the Buffalo Southtowns) * Chautauqua County, New York (particularly the area that is part of the Lake Erie watershed, north and west of the Chautauqua Ridge. The southeastern part of the county, in the Conewango Creek watershed, is not part of the Niagara Frontier. It is considered part of the adjacent

Southern Tier The Southern Tier is a geographic subregion of the broader Upstate New York, Upstate region of New York (state), New York State, geographically situated along or very near the state border with Pennsylvania. Definitions of the region vary wide ...

to the east) * Erie County, Pennsylvania – includes

Erie, Pennsylvania Erie is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, fifth-most populous city in Pennsylvania and the most populous in Northwestern Pen ...

* Ashtabula County, Ohio * Lake County, Ohio *

Cuyahoga County, Ohio Cuyahoga County ( or , see ) is a large urban County (United States), county located in the Northeast Ohio, northeastern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. The county seat and most populous city is Cleveland. As of the 2020 United States census, ...

– includes

History

The 17th-century '' Jesuit Relations'' recorded numerous now-obscure Iroquoian groups living along the Niagara Frontier. Even at that time it was a frontier zone, albeit between the Neutral, Erie, and Five Nations Iroquois confederacies, which were located to the west, south, and east respectively. One of the few well-attested Niagara Iroquoian groups, the

Wenro The Wenrohronon or Wenro people were an Iroquoian Peoples, Iroquoian Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous nation of North America, originally residing in present-day western New York (state), New York (and possibly fringe portions of ...

, has never had its homeland concretely located by scholars, though some sites on the south shore of Lake Ontario have been identified with them. There is some historiographical confusion as to which groups were distinct from each other and which may simply have been the same groups known by different names recorded by different chroniclers. One example, the Kakouagoga or Kahkwa people, are only mentioned in a handful of written sources, but may have had their territory near the modern city of Buffalo.

References

Citations

Sources

*
"Niagara River – The Old Niagara Frontier"
''Old and Sold'' {{Authority control Geography of New York (state) History of Erie, Pennsylvania History of Niagara County, New York Geography of Pennsylvania

History

See also

References

Citations

Sources