Sometimes you have the impression that the Niagara area has minimal appreciation for its rich history.

While several local libraries and historical societies have splendid collections tracing our story, it’s important to look beyond those sources. There are, in fact, a few treasures out there that need our attention too.

Take that Old Stone Chimney for example, standing alone and ignored, a charred remnant of an exciting era in Niagara Frontier history.

It’s adjacent to the former International Paper Co. complex. It was originally located upriver, closer to the Niagara Falls Power Co. site.

For the record, the chimney was part of Fort Du Portage built in 1750 to protect the commerce that moved along the famous route linking Lewiston with the upper Niagara River, a bypass of the falls.

The fort was destroyed by fire in 1759 as the French fled into Canada rather than face the British under Sir William Johnson, who had just captured Fort Niagara in Youngstown. “The chimney was so well built that it was little injured by fire,” one newspaper reported more than a century ago.

Soon after that fire, the English troops under Capt. Joseph Schlosser — a German who had served in the British army — rebuilt the fort and barracks that became better known as “Stedman’s House,” named for the master of the portage from 1760 to 1796.

What’s interesting about the chimney is its extended use.

Eventually the abandoned fort was converted in the early 1800s to a residence, once occupied by Judge Porter, a pioneer civic leader. Later the same structure was remodeled as a tavern, a favorite stopover for people heading west.

The tavern was destroyed by the British in 1813 but the chimney survived again. Another building later attached to the chimney served for many years as a farmhouse.

In 1902, the power company took down the chimney, stone by stone, and moved it to another site on its property.

The chimney was moved twice more in the 20th century, and today it rests at the rear of what’s left of Porter Park, the green space near a parking lot off Buffalo Avenue, close to the Robert Moses Parkway.

I had been urged many times to take a drive back there and check it out.

Finally, one day, I ventured on to the site for a closer look, and before I could even read the inscription on the plaque, a police officer pulled up and wanted to know why I was hanging out there.

So much for delving into history.

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FOOTNOTES: Richard Smiszek, a local resident, discovered a story of the historic stone chimney in The Daily Cataract (March 2, 1895). He thinks it’s shameful that there is no indication of any effort today to preserve the landmark.

He raises a valid concern.

On second thought, a worst-case scenario is hard to imagine: the chimney ending up on the front lawn of One Niagara (the former Occidental Center) where it would undoubtedly be used for barbecuing.

It’s probably better off where it is.

Contact Don Glynn at 282-2311, Ext. 2246.