HIS301: Historical Writing: Love Canal
Love Canal - An Introduction
Love Canal is a neighborhood in Niagara Falls, New York, infamous for a hazardous waste disaster. Named after 1890s entrepreneur, William T. Love, Love Canal was purchased by Hooker Chemical and Plastics Corporation in 1942. Between 1942 and 1953 Hooker Chemical disposed of about 22,000 tons of mixed chemical wastes into the Love Canal area. In 1953, Hooker Chemical sold the land to the Niagara Falls School Board for $1.00. In 1955, the 99th Street Elementary School was constructed on Love Canal property, and the area quickly became a blue collar, suburban neighborhood to hundreds of unsuspecting families.
In 1976, the Niagara Gazette reported that toxic materials were seeping into residents' basements, and there was a rise in reports of illnesses and injuries to human, animal, and plant life. In 1978, the New York Department of Health Commissioner declared Love Canal to be a health emergency. With approval of emergency funds by President Jimmy Carter, New York State (eventually) evacuated 238 families, and was responsible for remediating the site. During this time, homeowner Lois Gibbs, Dr. Beverly Paigen, and Sister Margeen Hoffmann rose to prominence as advocates for Love Canal residents, fighting for information on the health impact, and fighting for evacuation.
See the Niagara Gazette Love Canal Chronology and Love Canal Background Information.
Images
Children carrying protest signs, 1978. #NYSDOH7, Love Canal Images
Abandoned homes with "Dead End" sign in the foreground, 1982. MS100.547, Love Canal Images
Young girl wearing "Dioxin kills" sign, 1979. #MS100.121, Love Canal Images
Protest sign reads "Disaster Area: City Failed Us" on abandoned Love Canal home, 1978. #MS100.50, Love Canal Images
Father and child with sign 'I want to live' at Love Canal protest, 1978. #MS65.T1-45, Love Canal Images
Protest march by Love Canal families, 1978. #NYSDOH12, Love Canal Images
Online Resources
Use the following resources to supplement your primary source research.
- Love Canal guide
- Includes a comprehensive timeline of Love Canal events, as well as a list of archival collections
- Finding Aids database
- Finding aids are documents that describe/list the items in archival collections
- Navigate to the link to conduct a search for a subject or topic to reveal relevant collections in the University Archives
- If you see the description of an item you would like to view, contact lib-archives@buffalo.edu
- Love Canal website
- UB Spectrum (1955-1979) via NYS Historic Newspapers
- Full-text searchable database, allowing you browse issues of the Spectrum, 1955-1979
- Navigate to the search bar to conduct an advanced search
Recommended Collections
Please use these recommend resources to identify a collection or primary source of interest for your project. You can also conduct your own keyword search via our Finding Aids Database. If you see the description of an item you would like to view, contact lib-archives@buffalo.edu.
- MS 65: Ecumenical Task Force of the Niagara Frontier records, 1946-1995 [bulk 1978-1990].
- A small selection of digitized documents from the Ecumenical Task Force of the Niagara Frontier records can be found here.
- MS 100: Penelope Ploughman Love Canal collection, 1978-1994.
- 22/3F/634: Adeline Levine Love Canal research materials (Part I), 1953-1981 [bulk 1978-1981].
- 22/3F/1113: Adeline Levine Love Canal research materials (Part II), 1980-1991.
- 22/3F/1290: Adeline Levine Love Canal research materials (Part III), 1978-2002.
- 22/3F/1289: Adeline Levine papers, 1943-2016 [bulk 1968-1990].
- 19/F/1395: Michele Alexander Love Canal papers, 1975-1981.
- MS 74: Love Canal Area Revitalization Agency records, 1980-2003.
- MS 89: Love Canal Repository Grant records, 1978-2002 [bulk 2000-2001].
- MS 158: Lynn Corcoran In Our Own Backyard: The First Love Canal collection, 1979-1982.
- 22/7F/668: Lester W. Milbrath Environmental Issues papers, 1971-1990.