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Weird Western New York

@weirdwny.bsky.social

An #OnThisDay style account, focusing on the weird, the true, the lesser known, and the absurd history of Buffalo, Niagara, and other Western New York localities.

Posts Replies Media

Weird Western New York @weirdwny.bsky.social · 14h

I mean, you can’t read this unless you have a Buffalo News subscription, but … now you know.

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Weird Western New York @weirdwny.bsky.social · 17h

Not that weird: Oct. 8, 1812: two British brigs sat at anchor across the river from Black Rock. After midnight, about 100 Americans rowed out from Buffalo Creek and seized both. One, the Detroit, ran aground on Unity Island and was burned. #WNYhistory #Buffalo #History #NotWeird #OTD

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Weird Western New York @weirdwny.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

🧵 On this day in 1829, Sam Patch, America's first professional waterfall jumper, leapt into the Niagara River from a platform on Goat Island and lived. Ten days later he went back and jumped from even higher. 🌊 #WesternNewYork #OnThisDay #Niagara #History

A black and white drawing of a man on a very precarious platform supported by wires, shown below the cataract of Niagara Falls.

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Weird Western New York @weirdwny.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Oct. 7, 1875: The steamboat Jamestown, launched on Chautauqua Lake only that May, burned at her dock. The county historian records it as arson, and she was the first of four boats to carry the name. #WesternNewYork #ChautauquaLake #OnThisDay Read more here: billburktalks.blog/2026/05/04/a...

One half of a stereoscopic image, black and sepia toned, with an orange border, showing the complete wreck of a steamship with the name “Chautauqua” on the side. Debris is littered around it on the shore.

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