Henry P. and Christiana Long Smith

Henry Perkins Smith  

The first known lumber dealer was Henry P. Smith who had become established here by 1839. Born April 24, 1811, in Bolton, NY, on May 6, 1841, he married Christiana Hershey Long, daughter of Benjamin Long and Mary Hershey Long, the early settlers who built their homestead on the south side of Tonawanda Creek at the junction with Ellicott Creek, in Erie County, in 1829. Christiana had been born on March 17, 1820, in Marietta, PA. She died in North Tonawanda on June 8, 1910.

Henry had arrived in the vicinity of Niagara Falls, when he was about 8 years old, and the family lived on Portage Rd., renting a farm near Suspension Bridge from Judge Deveaux. The family lived there for approximately ten years.

Henry is said to have taught school in a little brick school house on River Road near present day Niagara University, although it is unlikely that he had had formal education,

In 1834, he served as clerk of a meeting called to organize the town in which he lived— Tonawanda—and the chair of the meeting was Benjamin Long, destined to be his father-in-law.

He was involved in a dry good business briefly, as mentioned in a scrapbook kept by his sister-in-law, Mary Long Leonard, as well as in Erie County deeds. In the deed, he and Daniel Smith received land “in the town of Buffalo” (which at the time included the present Town of Tonawanda) from Urial and Lucy Driggs. This land was in what is now the City of Tonawanda and was likely where Urial Driggs had a general store. It appears that Henry and his brother, Daniel, purchased the store previously operated by Driggs, slightly west of the present HSBC Bank building. In November 1837, he and Daniel gave a deed of assignment to Benjamin Long, John J. Hopkins, and I. Sherman—no doubt due to financial problems with the business. This was one of several unfortunate attempts by Henry to work with or cooperate with one of his brothers financially. This experience was also a reason for the negative and almost violent prejudice Benjamin Long carried for Henry when Henry came courting Christiana.

Henry was a merchant in Canada for many years, taking in exchange for his merchandise a large quantity of fine timber which he brought across the lake from Canada by raft in 1844, the first recorded raft of pine timber introduced from Canada. This proved so profitable that Henry turned his attention from mercantile pursuits to the importation of pine timber from Canada to the United States. He immediately devoted all efforts to the necessary equipment and materials for towing rafts across the lakes. From then on and for more than 35 years, he was a lumberman.

The Henry P. and Christiana Long Smith monument in Sweeney Cemetery, North Tonawanda.

Henry P. Smith is considered one of our first lumbermen.

Christiana Long Smith was the daughter of Benjamin Long and Mary Hershey Long.  Christiana Street is named for Christiana, who inherited most of what is now the street from her widowed mother.