News and views for the UB community
Workers at the site of Cataract House, located at Heritage Park, just outside Niagara Falls State Park. Waiters at the hotel were said to have helped hundreds of slaves cross the Niagara River into Canada.
Kate Whalen (green shirt), Phd '17, project director for UB's Archaeological Survey, oversees workers at the site.
Kate Whalen brushes dirt from a rock in the dig site.
This porcelain insulator tube was used for electricity during the early days of Cataract House, which was built in 1825. The hotel was gutted by fire in 1945 and demolished in 1946.
This brass and iron composit door lock mechanism, with a white painted surface, was unearthed at the Cataract House site.
This brass casement window latch also was found at the Cataract House site.
Heather Lackos, who received her degree from UB in 2012, works along the foundation of the former hotel.
Project manager Kate Whalen says researchers believe they've found another interior wall, with wires — possibly from a telephone — and metal brackets (at bottom of wall).
Cataract House, a major stop on the Underground Railroad and a one-time hotel in Niagara Falls, N.Y., is the site of an excavation by UB's Archaeological Survey. Photos: Meredith Forrest Kulwicki
Published June 21, 2018 This content is archived.