On May 18, 1826, a geological expedition, led by Amos Eaton and physicist Joseph Henry of the Rensselaerian School (now Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute) through the western part of New York state aboard the canal boat "LaFayette", encountered flammable coal gas rising from a spring. They named the local community Gasport. On the return voyage, May 26, they passed through the settlement again, and saw that the name was already appearing on signboards.
Passages that mention Gasport, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Niagara county, N. Y., with illustrations descriptive of its scenery, private residences, public buildings, fine blocks, and important manufactories, and portraits of old pioneers and prominent residents1878 · page 352Read the page →
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ORANGEPORT is located in the northwest corner of the town, on the Erie Canal, about one mile west of Gasport, and contains one church, a hotel, store, a post-office, wagon and blacksmith shop, and was once a railroad station. There are about fifty dwellings, and some two hundred inhabitants.
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History of Niagara county, N. Y., with illustrations descriptive of its scenery, private residences, public buildings, fine blocks, and important manufactories, and portraits of old pioneers and prominent residents1878 · page 353Read the page →
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Amos Brown had a saw-mill south of the village about the same time. The first store in this place was kept by Sextus Shearer in 1823. A. Colwell was the first postmaster at Gasport. The railroad station was located here in 1854. The land upon which the village stands was owned by Melick, Mabee and Hitchcock. In 1850, an organization was effected, a stock company formed, and an academy
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Souvenir history of Niagara County, New York1902 · page 33Read the page →
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A church was built at Gasport in the late sixties, and for a number of years was attended from Newfane, and since 1882 from Middleport.
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Souvenir history of Niagara County, New York1902 · page 103Read the page →
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STEALING THE DEPOT The hydra-headed monopolists of Gasport were not satisfied with their natural advantages. They began to have designs upon the neighboring hamlets. In 1852 the Niagara Falls branch of the New York Central Railway was completed and stations were established. One was at Maybee’s Crossing, near Reynales Basin, and another at Orangeport. The Gasport people thought these stations were
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Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Gasport, 1875 to 1917
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikimedia Commons (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
