Black Rock’s Industrial Legacy

by Paul Lubienecki, PhD

Copyright ©2026 All rights reserved by the author. Photographs are courtesy of the Black Rock Historical Society

In business, as in real estate, the primary factor is location, location, location. Because of its geographic position, the Black Rock area, north and west of Buffalo, was an advantageous site for business and industrial development.

Before the arrival of explorers and settlers into western New York, the Native Americans valued Black Rock’s location along the Niagara River as an artery for the transportation of goods along the Great Lakes. With the arrival of the French and then the English in the 1600s, Black Rock’s value increased exponentially. The natural harbor enabled fur traders to establish trading posts at Black Rock, making it a transit point for shipping pelts to Europe; as a result, it became a vital portage for trade and commercial traffic around the Great Lakes.

With abundant lumber, shipbuilding began as sailors built vessels to transport materials to the western Great Lakes as the country expanded into the Midwest and Ohio Valley.  This industry also spurred ancillary commercial businesses. Warehouses, flour mills, small factories, lumber mills, barrel manufacturers, and steam engine shops were established and located along the water’s edge. Merchants sold food, clothing, and other miscellaneous items needed to work and thrive there. Taverns, boarding houses, and brothels also became part of Black Rock's business ventures. Commercial Street (Breckenridge St.) became the village's business hub.

The Village of Black Rock sustained minor damage in the War of 1812 compared with Buffalo, so businesses could re-establish themselves quickly. Black Rock competed with Buffalo to be the terminus of the new Erie Canal, which meant increased business development and commercial growth for the victor. When the Canal opened in 1825, Black Rock was already an established center for business and industry. Warehouses, mills, small factories, and steam engine shops were located along the water’s edge.  Ultimately, Buffalo was selected as the canal’s terminus, and to make matters worse, the City of Buffalo forcibly annexed the village in 1854.

When the Canal opened in 1825, Black Rock was already an established commercial center, and the canal lock construction enhanced this growth. As canal boats waited in the lock for the water level to change, businessmen unloaded some produce and other goods.  By selling wheat, lumber, iron, and other raw materials moving down the canal, local entrepreneurs created a neighborhood-based economy.

By the late 1830s and early 1840s, the canal towpath in Black Rock, at the foot of Amherst, Austin, and Hertel streets, had become a significant manufacturing center with several flour mills, cooperages (barrel factories), and lumber mills. Remains of this early period in Black Rock's history can still be found near Austin Street and Dearborn and Amherst Streets.

Inadequate transportation reinforced Black Rock's isolation. As a result, Black Rock developed as a self-sufficient entity, legally linked but physically separate from the rest of Buffalo. This actually enhanced its industrial expansion. With its own economic base along the Erie Canal, a vibrant small but self-sufficient economy evolved, and the Black Rock Businessmen’s Association was established to sustain these efforts.  Rooted in diverse ethnic neighborhoods, the community’s social and religious life created a loyalty that reached into the factories and commercial firms for the next one hundred years.

The railroad aided the village's economic development.  In 1833, a freight and passenger line was completed. This opened up the area for expansion. Industry now had a more efficient way to receive and ship materials. Other sections of Black Rock opened up to industrial expansion, and by the end of the 19th century, many factories and industries chose the Black Rock area, creating a heavily industrialized district.

Railroads

Ultimately, the railroad aided the village's economic evolution.  Railroads competed with the canal by transporting goods and passengers more cheaply, farther, and faster than the waterway system.  The Buffalo and Black Rock Railroad was constructed along the beach between Buffalo and the Black Rock ferry station at the foot of the current Ferry Street. It began operating in 1834. A horse-drawn railcar was pulled along a three-mile-long railroad consisting of four-inch-thick wood rails covered with a thin strip of iron. By 1836, the railroad was running regular trains through the area and the historic district past Scajaquada Creek on the current alignment of Niagara Street. 

The railroad soon switched from horses to steam locomotives, becoming the first in the area to do so. By 1853, it was incorporated into the New York Central Railroad system, and the tracks were moved off Niagara Street closer to the river and canal.  In 1883, the New York Central Railroad constructed a railway that encircled the City of Buffalo and connected to the main railroad network. The Belt Line, as it was called, was a 15-mile loop that moved people and goods around the city and connected it to the larger railroad system linking Buffalo to the rest of the country. Industry and neighborhoods developed along the loop. Black Rock saw factories and working-class neighborhoods grow.

The Buffalo Street Railway Company was formed in 1860, and Niagara Street was one of the first streets in Buffalo to acquire tracks. The first streetcars were small and horse-drawn. The rails were cast iron and laid with tie rods between them to prevent the tracks from spreading apart. By the end of the 1860s, streetcar lines reached the city's sparsely settled areas. A car house, stables, and office were built near the intersection of Niagara and Albany Streets in 1862. Improvements and expansions of utilities like sewers, corduroy roads and other paved streets, gas lines, and the introduction of streetcar lines allowed citizens to commute from their homes to their work. The expansion of rail lines into Black Rock strengthened its economic growth because manufactured goods could be transported more cheaply, and laborers could commute to work.

Some factories, like Pratt and Letchworth, had been there since the 1870s. However, many came after the Belt Line was completed. Within a 10-year period, Buffalo Cooperative Stove, McKinnon Dash, Acme Steel, Hard Manufacturing and Standard Plaster were among the large companies with factories in Black Rock’s neighborhoods. By 1900, the Belt Line had attracted still more industry: Fedders, Kittinger Furniture and Pierce-Arrow, among the largest. As more immigrant workers arrived, factories expanded, and Black Rock became a strategic economic force in the local economy. This accelerated as industries worked to help the government win two world wars.

Chandler Street

With its location near the Belt Line, Chandler Street became one of the Grant-Amherst neighborhood’s most significant industrial streets. The city of Buffalo planned Chandler Street in 1889, and the street quickly became one of the most important industrial locations in western New York. The street paralleled the Belt Line for half a mile before terminating at the tracks of a branch of the Belt Line and the grounds of the Houk Manufacturing Company Factory.

By 1900, the north side of Chandler Street, which adjoined the Belt Line, had three major industrial plants: the Acme Malleable Iron Works Foundry (1895), the Buffalo Weaving and Belting Company Factory (1891), and the Clark Manufacturing Company Factory (1899). The Clark Manufacturing Company ceased operations on Chandler Street by 1916, while the Acme Malleable Iron Works Foundry and the Buffalo Weaving and Belting Company Factory remained important industrial centers for much of the twentieth century. Cornelius Vanderbilt’s Buffalo Brake Beam Factory, Linde Air Products Factory (1907), and the Enterprise Oil Company Factory (1914) were later additions.

By 1916, the industrial corridor had largely achieved the shape it would maintain for the next forty years. On the north side of Chandler Street stood large manufacturing facilities specializing in heavy industry, such as the Acme Malleable Iron Works Foundry and the Buffalo Weaving and Belting Company, while smaller establishments like the Enterprise Oil Company Factory were sandwiched between them. On the south side of Chandler Street, industrial development was less intense than on the north; industrial buildings were mixed in with private homes, saloons, and restaurants. Smaller self-contained factories produced specific manufactured goods. Industries located on the Belt Line enabled workers, mostly Polish, German, and Irish immigrants, to commute from throughout Buffalo to their work.

Residences, commercial buildings, and industry followed the construction of parks, streetcar lines, and utilities.

Niagara Street

Niagara Street paralleled the Erie Canal, making it the initial focal point of commerce and industry. Niagara Street had been laid out and constructed between 1807 and 1809 and initially contained a tavern a few small businesses and homes. The War of 1812 spurred substantial development along the street because of its logistical position on the water and its natural harbor. As a result, the village of Black Rock grew around Niagara and Ferry Streets. After the War, the Porter-Barton Company of Black Rock resumed its portage business of transporting trade and also constructed new warehouses. Shipbuilding became a major industry, and supporting businesses emerged along this street.

With the construction of a local rail line, later expanded into the Belt Line, and a canal lock at the foot of Austin Street, business expanded rapidly. Enhanced water power generated by the river and efficient transportation made Black Rock the most heavily industrialized section in western New York by the middle of the nineteenth century. 

Several mills were located on Niagara Street and on the river near Amherst Street and Bird Avenue. These included Frontier Mills and Enos’s flour mill. Other mills included the Erie Mills, the Queen City Mills, and the Clinton Mills. In 1866, Globe Mills, Niagara Mills, and Erie Mills were situated along the river near Niagara and Amherst streets.  Unfortunately, by the 1920s, most of the mills had either burned or been torn down.

In the decades before the Civil War, Black Rock developed iron smelting for nails, stoves, rails, and heavy equipment.  The area was ideally suited for this industry because of its water access for manufacturing and for shipping raw materials and finished products.  After the Civil War, Black Rock was the state’s premier manufacturer of iron products. Located at Niagara Street and Forest Avenue, the Niagara Bridge Works was regarded as one of Buffalo’s most important establishments in connection with the iron industry in the 1880s.  This Black Rock company, founded in 1873 by G.C. Bell and S.J. Field, employed between 100 and 300 workers in the 1880s.  In 1883, Thomas F. Griffin & Sons began manufacturing car wheels on Forest Avenue near Niagara Street, and the Shepard Hardware Company relocated its foundry to three-and-one-half acres in this area from Chicago Street. 

As the American Industrial Revolution of the late 19th century progressed, Black Rock benefited from its location near Midwest and East Coast markets. As the canal and docks expanded, raw materials arrived in Black Rock and finished goods left. As a result, Niagara Street became a hub for large industries relocating and expanding in the early 20^th century.

Most of the large properties along Niagara Street were subdivided and built upon. Urbanization took hold along Niagara Street. This took the form of a growing and much denser stock of residences, with shops and other commercial buildings erected to serve the increasing population. A few small and large manufacturers moved into the mostly residential area. Generally, the eastern side of Niagara Street was more residential, and the western side was more industrial. A Niagara Street power plant for the streetcars was built in 1891. It ran on coal until 1896, when hydroelectric power began coming from Niagara Falls.

At the beginning of the 20th century, smaller single-family homes and small businesses gave way to large factories and apartment buildings. The neighborhoods’ character was shifting from a fairly even mix of residential, commercial, and industrial development to more heavy industry. On the western side of Niagara Street, the industrial character was shifting from light and medium industry to more medium and heavy industry. The eastern side of Niagara Street shifted from residential and commercial uses to more industry and larger buildings, mixed with single-family dwellings. With improved public transportation, especially the automobile, workers no longer needed to live close to their workplaces; after the 1900s, businesses and industry were not always surrounded by worker cottages or apartments.

Notable companies on Niagara Street included the Buffalo Gasoline Motor Company at 1280 Niagara Street. Constructed in 1903, the company produced marine engines and combustion engines for automobiles until 1946.  In 1907, the Sterling Engine Company constructed a factory building at 1246 Niagara on the west side of Niagara Street between Breckenridge Street to the south and Auburn Avenue to the north. By 1925, Sterling Engine expanded further on Niagara Street. Sterling Engine’s “only goal” was marine construction, but by 1946, the company was producing engines for ships, airplanes, cars, and trains. In the late 1950s, the company was sold and relocated to Kansas.

 The American Body Company produced auto bodies in aluminum, steel, and wood at 1255 Niagara Street beginning in 1911. By the 1950s, the company had moved out of its Niagara Street location.  Sowers Manufacturing Company constructed a factory at 1294 Niagara Street in 1914. The company made equipment for seamless jacketed and single shell kettles, mixers, vacuums, and pressure apparatus. The company remained on Niagara Street until 1942, when it sold the property.

In addition to the larger companies, smaller industries were interspersed on Niagara Street. Phelps Auto Top and Trimming was located in a simple brick masonry building at 1245 Niagara Street.  As was common with smaller industries, companies came and went relatively quickly. New Method Laundry occupied this space in 1915, and by 1916 Reed Chocolate Company Candy Factory relocated there. Over the next few decades, business interests varied.

After the Second World War, global economic patterns shifted, affecting western New York, particularly Black Rock. Large manufacturing companies either moved out of the area or ceased operations. Gradually, Niagara Street deteriorated, marked by shuttered buildings and memories. A resurgence would occur, but not for several years.

The Industries

The Black Rock area was home to numerous industries and factories that began as regional companies and later expanded globally.  Their impact fueled America’s industrial revolution, helped win two world wars, and was instrumental in the national space program.  These are just a few of the many prominent and iconic companies:

Buffalo Weaving and Belting

Founded as the Chase and Mathewson Company in April 1891, it was rebranded as the Buffalo Weaving and Belting Company in 1903 as it expanded its product lines. The factory and office were located at 190-252 Chandler Street, occupying a large tract of land in the industrial heart of Black Rock on a connecting spur to the Belt Line railroad yards.  The factory buildings, as well as its architect, were historically significant.  The design of the new facility was done by distinguished architect Jennie Louise Blanchard Bethune.  She designed the structure as a continuous quarter-mile-long sequence of eight contiguous buildings, in the form of a single-story horizontal work shed, unique at a time of multi-story factory buildings

The company initially manufactured woven cotton harnesses for horse-drawn transportation. As Buffalo Weaving grew, it developed new product lines to meet customer needs. Originally, the company fabricated products for individuals, but over the years its primary clients became industrial and even military users.  These products included transmission belts for Ford’s automobiles, parachute harnesses for the military, arrestor belts used on aircraft carriers, and conveyor belts used in mining, factories, and agriculture. The main products were powertrain belts. These were large belts connected to a rotating wheel above the factory floor, supplying power to the machines below. The company wove the cotton on company-made looms using polyester threads with maximum strength and minimum stretch, ensuring the belting was solid and inseparable. After being woven, the raw belt was infused with a rubber fill and covering to stabilize it.

They made the sled harnesses Admiral Richard Byrd used in his first exploration of the Antarctic region in 1928. In the 1920s, the company manufactured transmission belt linings for the Ford Motor Company’s Model T. In the 1930s, they produced the first seat belts for aircraft from woven cotton webbing. During World War II, the company made parachute harnesses for the Army Air Forces. In the 1960s and 1970s, it made the sheet rubber tread mats used during the Apollo moon walks. The company was noted for its switchboard mats, used as shock absorbers in high-voltage factory areas, and for a unique rubber conveyor belt utilized in high-capacity mining operations.

The U.S. Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps were regular customers, buying products such as woven nylon arrestor tape used to stop Navy aircraft landing on short runways such as aircraft carriers or on land. The company’s largest market was in mining. Buffalo Weaving manufactured custom-made conveyor belts for underground mining operations where heavy loads needed to be sent to the surface quickly and safely.  As commercial industries expanded, Buffalo Weaving innovated, creating products to meet these clients' needs.

Pratt & Letchworth

Access to water and transportation systems made Black Rock an ideal place to establish iron and steel plants. The Civil War also stimulated iron and steel production by the use of a new blast furnace, built in 1860, the first on the Niagara Frontier. At the end of the Civil War, twenty foundries and iron works were operating.

The first rolling mill, a factory where metal is rolled into sheets and bars, was constructed in 1846 as the Buffalo Iron and Nail Works. Some years later, Pratt and Company, iron and hardware dealers, acquired the company. In 1850, Samuel F. Pratt, Pascal Paoli Pratt, and William Pryor Letchworth formed Pratt & Letchworth; the company developed its iron works around 189 Tonawanda Street and began producing steel by 1888. The Pratt and Letchworth Company pioneered the open-hearth steel process in the United States. This foundry was the first in Buffalo to introduce malleable iron for commercial use. This gradually replaced cast iron and brass in many of the company’s products.

The development of the Tonawanda Street industrial area stimulated growth around Tonawanda and Amherst streets, particularly after 1872, when the Pratt & Letchworth Company started erecting workers' cottages on company land. The growth of the company’s facilities, along with those of the United Hame Company, provided an early stimulus to development in Black Rock and expedited the settlement of the Grant-Amherst neighborhood.

Linde Air Products Company

In 1906, German industrialist Carl Von Linde decided to expand his oxygen extraction company overseas, targeting America, since no other companies attempted industrial-scale oxygen extraction. Along with Cecil Lightfoot, he opened the Linde Air Products Factory on Thanksgiving Day, November 1907, with just 16 employees. It became the first oxygen production plant in the United States. From day one, Linde supplied not only oxygen but also acetylene and welding equipment, helping power the rise of modern industry

His first plant in America was located at 155 Chandler Street in Black Rock. The original two-story section was built in 1907 of solid masonry construction with double-hung wood windows, brick piers, and pitched roofs. The building housed the first oxygen extraction facility in America and was later dubbed "the birthplace of the oxygen industry in the United States." It also served as the primary research facility for the Linde Air Products Company from 1923 until 1942.

The “Chandler Plant” developed and produced a particle barrier for the Oak Ridge Diffusion Plant during World War II as part of the atomic bomb program. Linde was part of the Carbide and Carbon Chemical Corporation, later known as Union Carbide. In the 1950s, Bell Aircraft acquired the property for its use. In 1958, the complex was sold and became home to the G&R Machinery Company.

Pratt & Lambert

The company was founded in Buffalo in 1849  by A.W. Pratt, who developed a product that dried linseed-oil paint. It soon became the largest varnish manufacturer. It was initially known as A. W. Pratt & Company (1849-1885) and became Pratt & Lambert, Inc. in 1885, a name it kept until 1994. At its apex, the company employed over 1000 workers.

In 1908, it opened an industrial research laboratory that was dedicated to developing new products and ensuring quality control. By the twentieth century, Pratt & Lambert had constructed an extensive facility east of Tonawanda Street north of the Fedders Company property. The company also had a small lacquer paint production factory on the south side of Scajaquada Creek.

Around 1920, the company diversified its product line to include exterior and interior house paints, as well as oil-based varnishes, marking a significant shift toward architectural coatings beyond its earlier focus on drying agents and specialty products.  By the 1930s, Pratt & Lambert had earned recognition for producing some of the most durable alkyd (oil-based) paints and varnishes available, which became a key strength of the brand during this era of growth in residential and industrial applications. These developments emphasized reliable, long-lasting oil-based formulations, positioning the company as a leader in traditional architectural finishes before the broader industry transition to latex paints after 1950.

In the post-World War II era, Pratt & Lambert shifted toward modern paint formulations amid broader industry trends favoring water-based technologies. With the housing boom of the Cold War era, demand grew for inexpensive, quick-drying paints and coatings. The company began producing latex paints in 1950, capitalizing on acrylic and vinyl acetate latex developments that emerged in the United States, offering easier application, faster drying times, and reduced odor than traditional oil-based paints. Throughout the 1950s to the 1990s, Pratt & Lambert built a strong position in latex and water-based products for architectural and industrial coatings that emphasized durability, color retention, and user-friendly properties. In 1996, Sherwin-Williams purchased Pratt & Lambert.

Curtiss-Wright Corporation

Glenn Curtiss of Hammondsport, NY, initially developed motorcycle engines. With the Wright Brothers' success in aviation and their formation of the Wright Aeronautical Company, he started his own company, the Curtiss Airplane and Motor Company, that manufactured “airplanes” and powerful engines to compete with the Wrights.

As a result of Glenn Curtiss' early success, the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company became the largest aircraft manufacturer in the world.  With the onset of World War I, military orders rose sharply, and Curtiss needed to expand quickly. In 1916, the company moved its headquarters and most manufacturing to the Black Rock section of Buffalo, New York, where it had far greater access to transportation, manpower, manufacturing expertise, and much-needed capital.  Curtiss employed 18,000 at three facilities in western New York and 3,000 at its Hammondsport, New York, location. During World War I, they produced 10,000 aircraft, more than 100 in a single week. Its most notable World War I aircraft was the Curtiss JN-4 “Jenny,” built at the facility on Elmwood Avenue.

After the war, the company focused on developing seaplanes and aircraft that could take off from a naval vessel's deck. At the time, Curtiss and the Wright Company were engaged in patent and legal battles. These were resolved in July 1929 when the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company merged with Wright Aeronautical Corporation of Dayton, Ohio, to form the Curtiss-Wright Corporation.  The merger brought together 18 affiliated companies and 29 subsidiaries, making Curtiss-Wright the largest aviation company in the United States at the time. The Buffalo headquarters became the company’s central administrative and operational hub.

During the Great Depression, Curtiss-Wright worked on aeronautical and engineering development for both land- and sea-based planes. With the Second World War, the company opened other plants in the area and produced a total of 17,575 planes, including 13,738 P-40 pursuit fighters and 2,674 C-46 cargo planes, from 1941-45. Women in the factory, the “Rosie the Riveters,” constructed most of these aircraft. The US Army Air Corps and 28 allied countries used those planes worldwide. 

During the Cold War and beyond, the company expanded into other areas: commercial aviation, electronics, defense, and NASA space programs. Western New York remained a key manufacturing and headquarters location for decades, housing engineering, production, and administrative functions.  The city’s industrial base and skilled workforce supported Curtiss-Wright’s aerospace and defense electronics operations well into the 20th century.

Fedders Corporation

Fedders began as a metalworking shop started by Theodore C. Fedders in 1896 in Buffalo, New York. At first it made milk cans and kerosene tanks for Standard Oil Co. (Cleveland, Ohio) and bread pans for National Biscuit Co. in Niagara Falls, NY.

Buffalo was home to automobile makers such as Pierce-Arrow and the Thomas Five. Fedders converted his plant to make radiators for these models and, over time, for other automobile makers as well. During World War I the company also made radiators for airplanes, and in addition it manufactured appliances for heating and electrical refrigeration. 

Other notable manufacturers in Black Rock were:

Laycock Bros. Sawmill; Thompson’s Shingle Mill; BFLO Sewer Pipe Factory;

Burgress Gun Factory; Jewett Refrigeration Co.; Houck Manufacturing Co.; Double Truss Cornice Brake Co.; American Radiator; Acme Steel; Kittinger Furniture; Pierce Arrow Automobile Factory and the Ford Motor Company. There were many more. 

The Workers  

A company's strength lies in its workforce.  American industries and businesses developed, expanded, and were profitable because of the workers. Immigration from 1870-1920 contributed to Black Rock’s industrial evolution.

Before the Civil War, most workers came from northern Europe: Germany and Ireland. The Second Great Migration occurred between 1870 and 1915, and these workers came from Eastern and Southern Europe (Italy). Polish, Ukrainian, and Hungarian migrants settled initially in Buffalo.

As industry and jobs developed in Black Rock, many of the new residents came from Buffalo’s East Side and moved en masse to the Grant-Amherst neighborhood of Black Rock.  They usually lived within walking distance of their jobs. These enclaves were centered on religion and churches such as the Church of the Assumption and St. Elizabeth’s Roman Catholic Hungarian Church. Here they learned English and “Americanization.” This cultural vibe was present in the neighborhoods and the factories.

The Belt Line helped Black Rock grow and become an ethnic neighborhood. People living in other areas of Buffalo took the train to work. As a result, Black Rock's population steadily increased. In 1880, the population was 6627. After the Belt Line was completed in 1900, the population rose to 21,522. Some companies built housing near factories, and living conditions in Black Rock were better than in Lackawanna, New York, near the Bethlehem Steel plant. Workers in Black Rock experienced better working conditions than the national norm, and many companies sponsored sports clubs and family outings to show appreciation for their labor.

In the 19th century, there were no unions, and companies could fire workers for joining one. Work was hard, dangerous, and not safe. A work-related injury could cost a worker their job.  Employees worked 6 or 7 days a week, 10- to 12-hour days for poor wages. Workers who spoke English could get promotions. Some managers pitted immigrant groups against each other. With the New Deal Era, unions became legal, and wages and hours improved. Labor problems were less dominant in Black Rock than at the Port of Buffalo and in Lackawanna. To assist laborers, the Catholic Church operated a Labor School at Assumption Parish to educate workers about their rights and duties.

The Decline

By 1900, small companies competing for the national market had been replaced by an economy dominated by a small number of enormous corporations offering a substantial array of new products. The price of these accomplishments was the crushing of thousands of small and medium-sized businesses, the exploitation of workers, and environmental fouling.

In the 1950s, economic strategies and demographics shifted.

Industries failed to modernize, citing costs. Many corporations acted with arrogance and ignorance in their manufacturing processes and sought higher profit margins. In Black Rock’s industries, many companies ceased operations completely because there was no market for their products. Most, however, were bought by larger non-local corporations that sent production overseas.  A lack of industrial and local political leadership with no strategic plan for the future sealed Black Rock’s decline.

For over 150 years, Black Rock was the economic heart of western New York.  From the early days of the Erie Canal to the mid-twentieth century, this area's industrial heritage reflected America’s industrial production. The growth and development of manufacturing here, coupled with the dynamism of an immigrant workforce, echoed the best of American business and commerce.  The relics of Black Rock’s industrial past remain, but they have become the foundation for its revival.

About the author: Dr. Paul Lubienecki obtained his M.A. in History from Buffalo State College and PhD. from Case Western Reserve University, focusing on labor and immigration. He has lectured and published multiple journal articles on the Catholic labor schools and has taught courses in American history, theology, and museum studies. He serves on the board of the Black Rock Historical Society.