The Niagara Grape

The Niagara grape was produced in Lockport by C.L. Hoag and B.W. Clark from a Concord seed fertilized with Cassidy in 1868, and the vine first fruited in 1872. After 1882, Hoag and Clark protected and marketed this white variety much as licensed apple varieties are handled today. Although it was overpraised and for a time faced a negative reaction to its qualities, it survived and, despite cycles of profitability, continued to find demand for fresh juice, blended juices, and wine. An old vine on the Odd Fellows and Rebecca Home property on Lake Avenue in Lockport was part of the original planting in Niagara County; Howard Hunter of Wilson, New York, maintained it until his death in 2008 and propagated cuttings from it, and in 2008 the original vine was still living with a cutting growing beside it.

Lockport, New York · United States