Lewiston Church
Cellar Inscription:
Dear Jack,
Sweet Chariot gonna swing at tomorrow's Moon three pair on the Winged Path,
Yours,
Jake S.
FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH:
303 Cayuga, Lewiston, New York
This is the burial site of Josiah Tryon, an Abolitionist and station conductor of the Underground Railroad. He also was a devoted member of the church, helping to raise funds for remolding costs and other church endeavors. Along with his brother, Amos Tryon and his other business partners, Augustus and Peter Porter, they established the firm of Porter, Barton & Co. and commenced trade around Niagara Falls, using the Niagara Portage that had been established by the Native Americans years before. They built mills and boats to use on both Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. The company soon become the major factor in commerce trading with the west.
It is believed that by utilizing the portage for "business purposes," Josiah had means to travel freely without suspicion and transport fugitive slaves from other stations to his brother's home, now known as "Tryon's Folly." Amos built the home as a surprise to his wife, but she rejected it and its undesirable location to remain in the city. The house was ideally located on the Niagara River, so that slaves could hide and receive provisions until they could be sent across the river to freedom in Canada.
The house, which still stands today, is known as "the house of the seven cellars," but there are actually nine small root cellars located in the lower levels of the structure. Placed atop a large escarpment, the house has three levels above ground, then extends downward four levels more. This may be what the "seven cellars" refers to.