Little is known about Boston, NY's history, and as Town Historian, I hope this page brings a unique view into the past and present of the Boston Valley and surrounding hillsides. The Town of Boston is an interior town of the county and one of the county's "Southtowns." North Boston is a small hamlet in the northern part of the town, and for many years was a favorite meeting place for political con
ventions. It has had a saw mill since about 1816, the present one being owned by Stephen Kester. About 1848 Martin Keller opened a general store and hotel, which he kept many years. The only other industry, besides a store or two and a few shops, is the cheese factory of Willis Jefferson. A Friends meeting house was erected here at a very early date. John Spencer organized a Presbyterian church which built an edifice in 1837; the building was finally sold to St. Paul’s German United Evangelical church, which was incorporated in 1857. John Twining and Benjamin Kester with some other Quakers settled at what came to be known as North Boston. In 1804, brothers Charles and Oliver Johnson and their families became the area's first settlers. The first Christian church was the Free Will Baptist Church, founded circa 1811. On April 5, 1817 the town of Boston was formed from a portion of the Town of Eden. The first post office opened in 1832 on the north side of town. This town has much history that can be found on the headstones in the cemetery across from the Boston Town Hall. There are many old gravestones that show some of the first settlers in the town and the infamous "Love" murder. In 1843, there were nineteen families living here, totaling forty-three people. In the fall of that year an epidemic occurred in which twenty-eight people were all ill and ten died. An investigation showed that all these families but one were using water from a well at a tavern. One man had quarreled with the inn keeper and his family secured their water elsewhere and was the only family to escape the illness. It was learned that a traveler had died of typhoid fever at the tavern shortly before the epidemic and that it was this disease which was prevalent. Without any doubt, the well had become contaminated and had spread the disease but apparently that was not understood at the time. We hope they closed the well. In any case, there seems to have been no recurrence. For several years following 1846, political conventions for the southern district of Erie County were held at North Boston by both parties. These brought many visitors to the town and enlivened the place considerably but after the Erie Railroad was built through Hamburg most of the conventions were held there. In 1840 a Quaker Meeting House was built. Later it was converted into a dwelling. In the years before the Civil War, many Germans were coming to this country and several families came to Boston. Martin Keller had a tavern, a store, a blacksmith shop and a tailor shop in a little community of Germans on the Feddick Road near the Keller Road, but no trace of this community remains. There are no records of the men who went from Boston to serve in the Civil War, but there are at least twenty veterans buried in the cemeteries. How many fell in battle or died in prisons or hospitals we do not know, but the men of Boston answered the call to arms. History repeats itself, and in 1944, murder again occurred in our town. In a summer cottage on the Back Creek Road between North Boston and Patchin, Walter Nowicki of Blasdell, shot and killed Jacob Schmidt and his son, Lawrence Schmidt. He also wounded Miss Edna Halliday. The victims were all from Kenmore. Nowicki then turned the gun on himself with fatal result. A love triangle seems to have been the cause of the tragedy. Automobiles have brought the city nearer, and more and more of the residents of the town have found employment in the industries of the city to supplement or take the place of the farm. This has changed the character of North Boston to a considerable degree. The beauty of our countryside has long been recognized and many city dwellers are moving into the town and building developments are wiping out the farm lands of the past. It now looks as if within a few years it will become a typical suburban community. The building of the modern elementary school in North Boston in 1959 marked a great advance in educational opportunity for the children. Boston & North Boston has changed so much through the years and the new residents know so little of its past. We have no current affiliation with the Boston Historical Society and bring this page to you from our love for the area and community.
