Amos W. Sangster (1833-1904)

This print from the series Niagara River from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario depicts the Buffalo Skyline seen from the ruins of Fort Erie in Canada.  In the 70 years that separated the war and the creation of this print many dramatic changes had taken place.  The once active fort had become a pastoral grazing field for farm animals. On the other side of the river, the small town that burned in 1813 grew to be an industrial city with a rising population and growing industries.

The Erie Canal, started a few short years after the war, was nearing completion before a full decade had passed.  By the end of the century, this shipping route to the Hudson River Valley and the power that was harnessed at Niagara Falls fueled a booming economy in Buffalo and the surrounding region.