Changes came to the flourishing Academy on Washington Street. The co-ed grade school, high school, and normal school were filled to capacity. The Sisters began to look for a place to move the Motherhouse of the Province and in 1908 purchased land north of Lewiston and established Stella Niagara. This facility served as a grade school, cadet school, all-girls’ high school, and living facility for the Sisters.
Buffalo was a national seat of industry, thanks to iron, steel, copper, and railroad car manufacturing. In 1910, there were 150 iron and steel factories in Buffalo that employed thousands of residents. In addition, the port, the first stop for raw goods like grain, livestock, and lumber from the Midwest, bustled with activity. Buffalo was one of the busiest grain hubs in the nation. The grain elevators, still a staple of the Buffalo skyline, moved two million bushels of grain a day. In 1914, the Concrete Central Elevator, the largest grain elevator in the world, was constructed. Polish and Italian immigrants flocked to the city, where they established dozens of Catholic parishes, including St. Gerard’s, St. Anthony’s, and Holy Angels. In the fall of 1918, the Spanish flu pandemic arrived in Western New York, and despite a strict order closing all public spaces (such as schools, theaters, shops, and churches), the number of sick and dying overwhelmed both hospitals and casket makers.
For a closer look at any of these photographs, click on Memories to the right.