{"id":16029,"date":"2025-09-23T12:31:06","date_gmt":"2025-09-23T16:31:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/niagarafallscliftonhill.com\/blog\/?p=16029"},"modified":"2025-09-24T13:34:03","modified_gmt":"2025-09-24T17:34:03","slug":"history-of-the-casino-niagara-property","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cliftonhill.com\/falls_blog\/history-of-the-casino-niagara-property\/","title":{"rendered":"Casino Niagara: More Than a Casino, It’s a Piece of Niagara’s History"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

You know, when you hear “Casino Niagara<\/a>,” your mind probably goes straight to slot machines and blackjack tables. And sure, that’s a big part of it! But here’s the thing: the ground that casino sits on has seen more drama and reinvention than just about any other patch of land in the city. It’s like the ultimate shape-shifter, always changing to match the heartbeat of Niagara Falls itself. Honestly, if this piece of land could talk, the stories it would tell. It’s never been content to just sit still”\u201dit’s always evolved right along with the city, catching the next wave of whatever was new and exciting, from a loyalist farm to the industrial age and beyond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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From a Loyalist Farm to a Stone Homestead<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Our story starts in 1782, with a man named Philip George Bender. As a United Empire Loyalist who served with Butler’s Rangers<\/a>, Bender was granted a huge 300-acre plot of land for his service”\u201da reward that covered much of what we now consider downtown Niagara Falls. It’s fascinating to imagine that land not as city streets, but as sprawling farmland, with the thunder of the Falls a constant, distant rumble. After the dust settled from the War of 1812, he built a sturdy stone house to replace his original wooden home, putting down roots that would last for generations. The Bender family held onto this homestead for nearly a hundred years, a testament to their connection to the land, before it caught the eye of an industrialist with a vision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Clang of Industry: The Oneida Silverware Era<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In 1880, John Humphrey Noyes, the founder of the famous Oneida Community in New York, bought the property. The real shift came in 1916 when his son, Pierrepont B. Noyes, decided to build the Canadian Oneida silverware factory right there. This wasn’t just a new business; it was the dawn of a new era for the local workforce. The factory became a major employer, its whistles marking the shifts, and by 1925, the old stone house was gone, replaced by a three-story factory building. The site was now the heart of local industry, producing fine silverware that would grace dinner tables across the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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