The Gully and Portage Road

The Gully and Portage Road. The beginning of safe passage around the treacherous waters of Niagara Gorge and the Falls. Located at the base of the Niagara Escarpment, the ravine known as the Gully provided a naturally sheltered docking area where the Niagara River flows out of the steep and unnavigable Niagara Gorge. From this docking area, the Gully provided access to the lower tiers of the Escarpment. The docking area, the steep pathway up the Gully, and the land atop the Gully formed the northern terminus of the Niagara Portage - a nine-mile route along the eastern side connected the Upper and Lower Landings. After scrambling up the embankment from the river, Seneca porters transferred their goods to carts or "cradles" that carried the goods from the gully up the remaining 350 feet to the top of the Escarpment. From there the goods were transported along the Portage Road to the Upper Landing, which was located along the shore of the Niagara River, above the Falls. , Between 1958 and 1961, the construction of the Niagara Power Project dramatically altered the landscape, obscuring the original contours of the land and removing almost all traces of the original gully. Over 9.5 million cubic yards of rock and dirt excavated upriver were deposited over the area that is now Artpark. The upper parking lot, directly behind you, is one of the results of these deposits. The construction of the Niagara Parkway further altered the landscape as the steep Portage Road between Lewiston and the top of the Escarpment was graded into a gentle slope. , View of the Gully from the River. (Photo: Historical Association of Lewiston, Lewiston Museum Archives.) , Construction drastically alters the original terrain of the Landing, October 1958. (Photo: Historical Association of Lewiston, Lewiston Museum Archives.) , Artist's rendition of the terrain of the Lower Landing and Escarpment in 1700s and today. Note the length of the Gully and the altered slope of the Escarpment.