The Village of Hamburg

The Village of Hamburg. A Timeline of History. , [left photos] Street parade, circa 1940. George M. Pierce, President of the village of Hamburg, 1874-76. Hotel Hamburg was built on the site of the old B.M. Fish Dry Goods Store after it burned in 1917. , 1798 - Joseph Ellicott, a land agent for the Holland Land Company, began surveying western New York. , 1806 - John Cummings purchased the first lot in the town of Hamburg from the Holland Land Company and built a grist mill on Eighteenmile Creek. , 1811 - Daniel and Richard Smith built a grist mill on Eighteenmile Creek and the early settlement known as Smith's Corners developed, later called the village of Hamburg. , 1813 - The British burned Buffalo; refugees sought shelter in the Center House, a new inn on the corner of Lake and Main Street. , 1820 - Thomas White ran a tannery and general store near Main and Buffalo Streets and the community was called White's corners. , 1836 - The First Baptist Church was built on the south side of Main Street at Center Street. , 1849 - Hamburg's brick schoolhouse was built at 65 Main Street. Village businesses grew to include Kronenberg's Shop, many taverns, a brewery, a saw mill, a tannery, and the Hamburgh Planing Mill. , 1857 - Kopp's Hotel opened and later added an opera house. , 1861-1864 - Hamburg men joined the 116th Regiment of the New York State Volunteers. It was during this time that Union Street was named. , 1874 - The village of Hamburgh was incorporated with George M. Pierce as the first president. , 1877 - The spelling of the village was changed to Hamburg. , 1878 - The old village cemetery, now Memorial Park, was closed and graves were moved to the new Prospect Lawn Cemetery. , 1883 - Fire destroyed a section of the business district. Soon after the fire, two and three story brick buildings were built, replacing the old wooden structures. , 1884 - Hamburg veterans organized a Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) post. The monument in Memorial Park honors Hamburg's soldiers. , 1886 - The first telephone came to the village. , 1889 - The Hamburg Water and Electric Light Company was established under the leadership of Thomas L. Bunting. , 1897 - The Nineteenth Century Club established the Hamburg Free Library with Amanda Michael Dorland as the first librarian. , 1900-1901 - Two trolley lines, the Sunshine Line and the Allen Line, linked Hamburg to Buffalo. , [right photos] The Bank of Hamburgh was constructed in 1907. It also housed the Post Office and Hamburg Businessmen's Club. Amanda Michael Dorland, First Librarian, Hamburg Free Library, 1901-20. Main and Buffalo Streets were paved with brick and opened in 1904. John Van Epps, photographer