Lewiston is rendered historically significant for its location to Niagara Falls, War of 1812 events, including the burning of Lewiston by the British, and was the final stop of the Underground Railroad.

Catherine Hustler of Hustler’s Tavern invented the cocktail, which was a gin mixture stirred with a feather, the Frontier House was the grandest hotel in the United States west of Albany and still stands today and the Robert Moses Power Project were all significant to the development of Lewiston.

Authors, Suzanne Simon Dietz and Amy Freiermuth spent a year piecing Lewiston’s history together for the book, Lewiston, in Arcadia Publishing’s Then and Now series.

“It’s a documentary showing the ongoing transformation and history of Lewiston,” said Dietz.

“This book focuses on then, the historical photograph, and what it is today, how it looks today,” added Freiermuth. “This book is more of a comparison of then and now.”

Lewiston is made up of more than 150 pictures depicting businesses and homesteads of years past and what they currently look like, along with more than 16,000 words telling anecdotes and jammed with history.

Many of the photos are from 1905, including the Barton House, the public library, which is now DiCamillo’s Bakery, First Presbyterian Church, and the Angler’s Hotel, to name a few. The compilation also contains a photo of the Tuscarora Baptist Church with horses and a buggy in front of it from the late 1800s, early 1900s. Notable chapters include the War of 1812 and the Lake Ontario Ordnance Works of 1941.

When most people think of the Town and Village of Lewiston, Center Street immediately pops into their head. Lewiston is more than that.

Approximately 20,000 people make up the township in 41 square miles, which encompasses the Town and Village of Lewiston, parts of Sanborn, Pekin and the New York Power Authority.

This isn’t the first time Freiermuth and Dietz have collaborated. Freiermuth has her bachelor’s in photojournalism and obtained her masters in printing technology with a focus on design and topography. She also took up independent studies in graphic design. With her experience, Dietz, the Town of Porter’s historian who grew up in Lewiston, was introduced to Freiermuth, a native of Porter, for her skills on Dietz’s last two books. The two then decided to work together on this book.

“I have two favorite parts with Lewiston’s process; doing the research because you always find out something new, and it was wonderful working with Mary,” said Dietz.

For Dietz, there wasn’t a specific building that was her favorite, it was the people inside the structures, including Dr. Selzer, the hostess at Schneider’s Restaurant, Betty Bradshaw, or Bill Helms at his grocery store. The lives of the people, Dietz notes, made the history of Lewiston and made it significant.

“I’m not a history person, but it was interesting learning about the history,” said Freiermuth. “Sue’s wealth of knowledge and just getting into the community and talking about the project and hearing the stories inspired me. It’s brought a lot of pride to me to know the history and it makes me want to get involved more.”

For more information, or to purchase a copy of Lewiston, visit www.arcadiapublishing.com, or call 1-888-313-2665.