Taking a Peek at Pekin
The village of Pekin is located at the intersection of Upper Mountain and Town Line Roads, atop the Niagara Escarpment. The west half of the village is located in Lewiston and the east half in Cambria. The first person to purchase land in what is now Pekin was a man whose last name was Carney. Some sources cite John Carney and others cite Samuel Carney as the first to purchase lots from the Holland Land Company in 1812. It is doubtful that either man was actually in Niagara County before 1815. It wasn’t until the War of 1812 ended that people began to purchase more land and actually settle on their purchases. The settlement was originally called “Mountain Ridge,” which aptly described the location. Interestingly enough, the village not only encompassed both sides of Upper Mountain Road but also the road that wound down the escarpment from Upper Mountain to Town Line Road below. By the 1820s, Mountain Ridge could boast a tavern, a post office and several businesses. In 1831 the name was changed to “Pekin” (some people believe that it was named after the Chinese capital).
A major change came to Pekin in 1836 when the first railroad was built through the village. The Lockport and Niagara Falls Strap Railroad Company operated between the two villages making two runs daily. This railroad also used the famous “DeWitt Clinton” steam engine, originally the first train to travel between Albany and Schenectady. The railroad put Pekin on the map in Niagara County. For the next fifteen years, the little village prospered. Then in 1851, the Lockport and Niagara Falls Strap Railroad Company was sold to the Rochester, Lockport and Niagara Falls Railroad Company, which redirected the tracks north through Sanborn. Pekin’s “glory days” were over although it continued as a quiet farming and business community.
One of the dominant landmarks in Pekin is the large stone Methodist Church. The congregation was formed in 1819 and they built their first meetinghouse in 1825. The present stone church was constructed in 1856-57. The Congregational Church was established in 1827 they and built their church in 1845. That church disbanded in 1856 and a Presbyterian Society used the building for a few years. In 1860 there was schism in the Methodist Church with a number of the congregants leaving to form the “First Free Methodist Church of Pekin.” This congregation first met in the old wooden Methodist meetinghouse and later moved into the Congregational Church after the Presbyterian Society disbanded. The Free Methodists disbanded in 1873 and the church burned down in 1880. Another church, the Church of Christ (Disciples) was established in Pekin in 1888.
Presently, Pekin’s claim to fame is Schimschack’s Restaurant, situated at the edge of the Niagara Escarpment offering a wonderful view of the Lake Ontario Plain. Located on the site of previous hotels and taverns, it joins a long list of places of hospitality in the history of Pekin, NY.
Douglas Farley, Director
Ann Marie Linnabery
Erie Canal Discover Center
24 Church St.
Lockport NY 14094