History

Originally part of the Buffalo Creek Reservation, the area was not open to settlement until 1842 when the land was sold by the Seneca Indians. In 1851 the town of Seneca was formed; the name was changed to West Seneca in 1852. The area now known as Lackawanna was then called West Seneca or Limestone Hill.
Lackawanna was a center of steel manufacture throughout most of the 20th century. In 1899 all the land along the West Seneca shore of Lake Erie was purchased by the Lackawanna Steel Company, based in Scranton, Pennsylvania since its founding. Construction was started in 1900 and the Lackawanna Steel Company relocated to the area in 1902. The plant began operations in 1903. Later, in 1909, the residents of the area voted to split off from West Seneca, forming the city of Lackawanna.^[3]
In 1922 the Lackawanna Steel Company was acquired by the Bethlehem Steel Company. With the 20th-century growth of the Bethlehem Steel plant, at one time the largest in the world, came the continued growth of the city and its institutions. At its peak the plant employed 20,000 people. It attracted immigrants from many lands to settle here and make their homes. Due to industrial restructuring in the latter half of the 20th century, the steel plant declined in business and eventually closed in 1983, following massive job layoffs.^[4]
In the 21st century, efforts have been made to develop the former steel plant brownfields to other uses. The site has a diversity of tenants, some occupying buildings remaining from the former steel plant and a few in newer buildings. Opponents say that the brownfield is not safe and that alleged contamination of the field has caused cancer and other medical issues.^[5] United States Environmental Protection Agency reports are still ongoing and contested.^[6]
As part of redevelopment, wind turbines were built on the former Bethlehem Steel property in 2007. These initial eight 2.5 megawatt turbines will provide power for up to 9,000 households and are considered a sustainable energy source.^[7]
The Buffalo Harbor South Entrance Light was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.^[8]
On November 9, 2016, a major fire broke out at the former galvanizing plant of the Bethlehem Steel complex.

Railroads

The Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad, originally the Lackawanna and Western Railroad, operated from 1851 to 1960. In 1960 it was consolidated with the Erie Railroad to become the Erie Lackawanna Railway. This operated until 1976, when it was absorbed by Conrail.

Notable court case

The city of Lackawanna was the defendant in the 1971 district court decision Kennedy-Park Homes Association v. City of Lackawanna. This decision forbade the municipal government (Lackawanna) from interfering with the construction of a low-income housing development in a predominantly white section of the city. The court ruled such action would amount to racial discrimination.^[9]