Historic Lake Erie

Lake Erie was named for the Indian Nation of the Eries, who dwelt on these shores before 1634, when they were conquered by the Iroquoian Confederacy. In 1641 came the earliest written mention of the lake in the writings of French missionaries. In 1669, Louis Joliet became the first white man known to travel its waters. In 1679, La Salle’s Griffon became the first ship to sail the Great Lakes above Niagara. In 1749, Celeron’s Expedition voyaged south to claim the Ohio Basin for France. In 1758, Gilbert Joncaire constructed the earliest settlement at Buffalo Creek. In 1759, the French were defeated and this region became a British possession. In 1783, the Treaty of Paris brought recognition of the United States by Great Britain. In 1796, Jay’s Treaty led the British to relinquish frontier posts on U.S. shores. In 1813, Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry won the Battle of Lake Erie. In 1817, the Rush-Bagot Treaty restricted naval armament on the Great Lakes. In 1818, the Walk-in-the-Water, the first steamship on Lake Erie, was launched. In 1822, the boundary between the United States and Canada was established. From 1840 to 1860, an immense tide of western emigration embarked from the fort. From 1875 to 1925, the Great Lakes developed into the world’s largest fresh-water navigation system, with Lake Erie serving as its gateway between east and west. In 1927, the dedication of Peace Bridge at the outlet of the lake marked a century of unfortified peace between Great Britain and the United States.

Buffalo, New York · United States