CATARACT HOUSE TAUGHANNOCK, NY 1880s LETTERHEAD - HISTORIC UNDERGROUND RR HOTEL for Sale

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CATARACT HOUSE TAUGHANNOCK, NY 1880s LETTERHEAD - HISTORIC UNDERGROUND RR HOTEL For Sale

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CATARACT HOUSE TAUGHANNOCK, NY 1880s LETTERHEAD - HISTORIC UNDERGROUND RR HOTEL:
$18.00

We are offering an 1880s letterhead for Cataract House, Taughannock, New York [Niagara Falls]. The letterhead has the beginning of a letter, it was never completed - just the date - July 13, 1886 - and the salutation - "Dear Cousin".In the early/mid 1800s the hotel played a major role in the Underground Railroad, assisting in the safe passage of runaway slaves across the Niagara River into Canada.
Established in 1825 on the banks of the Niagara River, the Cataract was a 5-story luxurious hotel visited by people from all over the United States and the world including political leaders and royalty. Its staff of cooks, waiters and bellhops was made up mostly of blacks, many of whom had escaped slavery themselves. They played a vital role in forming a vast network of Underground Railroad activities, putting their jobs and their lives in jeopardy. As a result of these brave people, many people went from a life of slavery and misery to a life of freedom in Canada. Although Canada had allowed slavery, they had way less slaves than the United States and had completely abolished slavery by 1834.
**NOTE** - The original hotel burned down in 1945, but in its place the Cataract House Restaurant & Academy opened in 2021. The restaurant is directly connected to the Niagara Falls Underground Railroad Heritage Center which is dedicated to showing the important history of the historic Cataract House hotel.