Grider Street is located on the East Side of Buffalo, running north-south between Leroy Street and East Delavan Avenue. The street is one of the main thoroughfares through the Delavan-Grider neighborhood. The Erie County Medical Center (ECMC) is located on Grider Street.
Daniel Grider (also spelled Greider) was born in Pennsylvania in 1787. He came to Buffalo in a covered wagon drawn by oxen in the early 1820s.
Daniel Grider’s great-granddaughter with the family cornerstone. Courier-Express, February 4, 1940
Daniel Grider bought a 48-acre farm for 50 cents an acre. He built a frame house opposite the site of the Buffalo City Hospital (now ECMC). Mr. Grider’s family spoke German in his youth. One way that Daniel would save money was to hire newly arrived German immigrants to work on his farm in Buffalo, giving them food and board and teaching them English. By 1835, he had prospered and built a larger, more substantial house in its place.
Mr. Grider and his wife Nancy, had two daughters, Fanny and Nancy. He was well respected in Buffalo, but never ran for public office. Mr. Grider served as a representative from Erie County for the Canal Convention regarding upgrades to the Erie Canal in 1837.
The Grider farm was subdivided when the Erie and Lackawanna railroads passed through Buffalo. At that time, the farm was cut into building lots and streets were laid out.
Mr. Grider passed way on March 25, 1855. The family operated a burial plot on the Grider farm. When the property was sold, the family members’ graves were moved to Mount Hope Cemetery at Pine Ridge.
Learn about other streets by checking out the Street Index.
Source: “Grider street Recalls Name of Land Owner” Courier Express Feb 4 1940 Sec 5 p 4
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