True crime in Buffalo

Like any other city, Buffalo has some history that includes tragedy. Here are five examples that have occurred in both the far and recent past. 

South Campus’ unexpected past

This might be one of the less mysterious facts on this list, but on the same location that South Campus was built, there was once a poor house and insane asylum. The Erie County Almshouse was located in the 19th and early 20th century on what is now South Campus, and Hayes Hall once operated as the Department of the Insane. While neither facts are inherently disturbing, the fact that human remains were unearthed during construction might be. When the poorhouse was still running, people were buried onsite, leading to coffins being found in 2012 during construction. UB researchers believe that 3,000 or more individuals were buried there.

President McKinley assassination

One of the most famous and dark historical events to occur in Buffalo; at the Pan-American Exposition, a world’s fair in 1901, a shimmering moment of glory in Buffalo’s history, President William McKinley was shot by a man named Leon Czolgosz. With a revolver in one hand hidden underneath a white handkerchief, Czolgosz went up to shake McKinley’s hand with the other. Czolgosz was then sent to the Auburn correctional facility, about two hours away from Buffalo to die by the electric chair, a death penalty method that had been conceptualized a few years earlier by a Buffalo dentist. 

Angola Horror

In 1867, a train headed from Cleveland to  Buffalo was derailed over a bridge. The train crashed into a gorge, but it was fire that led to the fatalities. The train was made up of wooden cars, and each car contained a coal-burning stove. When the train turned over, around 50 passengers burnt to death as the cars easily lit on fire. At the time of the event, this was one of the most deadly train accidents in history, and the incident was dubbed the “Angola Horror.”

Love Canal tragedy 

In the U.S. city of Niagara Falls, a community became the site of a toxic environment. After the Hooker Chemical Company purchased the area known as “Love Canal,” they began dumping chemicals from the factory into the ground. In 1978, after decades of contamination, an investigation reported that carcinogenic chemicals could be found in the soil of the area, and therefore also in backyards, homes and schools. While many residents were evacuated from the area, sadly, medical issues like birth defects and leukemia persisted long term in former Love Canal residents. 

The Bills

Buffalo is known for football fandom and like any long established team, there is bound to be some dark aspect of their history. Few wish to remember, for example, that the recently deceased O.J. Simpson — who was accused but not convicted of killing his wife — was once a well-loved Buffalo Bills running back. Further, some may remember the Bills’ squad of cheerleaders, the Buffalo Jills, who disbanded after years of being underpaid, having their union squashed and being forced to follow intense rules that involved body scrutinization. This all goes without mentioning a minor tragedy of sorts: the loss of four consecutive Super Bowls in the 1990s. Still, it’s fair to say that the Buffalo Bills have witnessed scandal, like many other Buffalo institutions. 

Nadia is the senior arts editor and can be reached at nadia.brach@ubspectrum.com