here are a few pictures of grand island, new york. all of these pictures are from the west side of the island, since that is the side i was boating and waterskiing on with my relatives.

first, a little information. the seneca indians called this island "owanungah", which i believe means "big island". the neutral indians lived in this area, and got their name for somehow managing to stay neutral in the ongoing war between the hurons and the iroquois.

at one point, grand island tried to establish itself as a separate country. when the united states purchased the land along the niagara river back in the late 1700's or early 1800's, the border between canada and the us wasn't settled on. some suggested the border be on the west channel next to grand island, some on the east channel. some others wanted to split the island down the middle and have a land border. the small settlement of grand island citizens, who were an odd lot (new york officials described them as "ruffians", "outlaws", "savages", "forest dwellers", etc) decided that they didn't want to pay taxes to either country, and decided that they would be their own country. they took advantage of the lack of a credible border, but when the declaration was made, the state of new york sent troops in to kick off all the settlers and send them to the mainland of either country.

big six mile creek marina, which is also a state park.

http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/802/dscf19979oa.jpg

a tilted picture of the west shore of grand island near navy island (the picture is tilted because it's hard to take perfect pictures from a moving boat).

http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/5520/dscf20267wh.jpg

the grand island bridge on the north side of the island. buckhorn island and buckhorn island state park are on the right.

http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/6637/dscf20429rw.jpg

another picture of the grand island bridge and buckhorn island.

http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/8114/dscf20434gp.jpg

navy island (part of canada) in the middle of the picture, with grand island on the right.

http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/632/dscf20678vr.jpg

a serene picture of the niagara river, looking south from navy island. grand island is on the left.

http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/53/dscf21133uu.jpg

a dark picture of some of the large houses along the northern area of the west shore of grand island.

http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/1355/dscf21232pj.jpg

looking north, down the river from near beaver island state park.

http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/5273/dscf21338qz.jpg

the view of the black rock neighborhood of buffalo from near beaver island state park.

http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/773/dscf21344at.jpg

strawberry island in the middle of the picture, located just south of grand island.

http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/7859/dscf21352ea.jpg

the view of some of buffalo's neighborhoods from beaver island state park.

http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/6661/dscf21360hj.jpg

a closer view of part of buffalo.

http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/3310/dscf21370wb.jpg

the "beach" at beaver island state park. there really isn't any sand here, so i don't call it a true beach; the "sand" on land has as much dirt as it does sand, if not more. the floor of the river is not sand, but clay, which made wading out into the water really squishy, strange, and uncomfortable to me. i'd rather have my feet stepping into sand under water than getting immersed into soft clay.

http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/67/dscf21385eg.jpg

a closer look at the facilities at beaver island state park.

http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/953/dscf21395qe.jpg

the real beaver island is on the left. a small creek separates a small piece of land from the rest of grand island. the creek's opening is in the middle of the picture, in front of the marshy plants.

http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/4232/dscf21404zj.jpg

a storm rolls in above grand island and some of the very nice houses along the middle area of the west shore of the island. this picture (and about half of all my grand island pictures) were taken last wednesday, when a small but strong thunderstorm popped up, probably form the humidity, and dumped a little rain and hail on grand island, tonawanda, and the surrounding areas. this was the only rain we had on our vacation up there.

http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/7235/dscf21430gl.jpg

an i was hoping you would be on land...there are a couple nice modernist houses on teh west side of grand island if i'm not mistaken

I have a friend who lives on Grand Island and insists it's the largest "Fresh Water Island" in the world. Does anyone know if this could be true? I know there are plenty of islands in the other Great Lakes (Mackinac Island in Lake Huron or Lake Michigan, for example). Not that it really matters, but...

no its the largest 'felluvial' island in the world...

i might have the word wrong...but it means an island within a river..it is the largest island found within a river, not the largest found in fresh water

I have a friend who lives on Grand Island and insists it's the largest "Fresh Water Island" in the world. Does anyone know if this could be true? I know there are plenty of islands in the other Great Lakes (Mackinac Island in Lake Huron or Lake Michigan, for example). Not that it really matters, but...

a small book that i read which was about grand island (the book that gave me the info on "owanungah" and making it's own country) said that "this statement has been made, but a quick look at a map of the great lakes disproves this". there's one big island in lake huron that is maybe 100 times bigger than grand island.

some info from that same book that i forgot to say: timberwolves lived on grand island until 1956, when the last one died.

There is alot of potential for the Island as far as Niagara Falls expansion is considered, IMO (trying not to forget Six Flags Darien Lake) this would be a prime location for a HUGE amuzment park, perhaps like a record breaking place incorporated with the Falls...build a monorail!

I dunno, it seems nice there. Flat like Kansas though.

There is alot of potential for the Island as far as Niagara Falls expansion is considered, IMO (trying not to forget Six Flags Darien Lake) this would be a prime location for a HUGE amuzment park, perhaps like a record breaking place incorporated with the Falls...build a monorail!

I dunno, it seems nice there. Flat like Kansas though.

there's already one amusement park, martin's fantasy island. i think it's more for kids than adults, with smaller roller coasters and whatnot. my little brothers and sisters have been there, but i haven't, and i don't plan on going because i think the park is geared towards families and kids that are "tweens" or teens.

maybe they could just expand this park? half the work would already be done.

Billy Fuccillo renamed Grand Island to Huuuuuuuuge Island

the people who live on grand island are too weird to let anything happen there but fuccillo and fantasy island...

better yet...lets remove all the morons in WNY and put them on Grand Island with 20 foot tall fence topped with razorwire and have it electrified.

...wait, would there be room?

Even growing up I always thought something felt funny about Grand Island. It must really suck voluntarily living somewhere where you have to pay to get out. Of course it's probably just me. Nowadays, having spent most of my life in the southtowns, I drive up to Amherst or Tonawanda and I feel like I'm in a foreign country...

Anyways, you can bash Fantasy Island until the Canadian geese come home (not that I'm saying anybody is), but in my book it was always better than Darien Lake. And now that DL is part of the evil empire that is Six Flags, I think it's more overrated and overpriced than ever. I can remember growing up my grandparents would take me and my brothers to whatever of the two we wanted to go to once a summer. We picked Darien Lake once and never went back. Last time I was there was for Physics Day in high school and half the rides were closed. However, I will agree that Fantasy Island's western shows bite the big one.

Of course if I was voting for my favorite amusement park in the WNY area, with Crystal Beach now gone I'd have to say Seabreeze outside Rochester. Nice and little, yet enough to spend a whole day. Almost has what I think of as a Coney Island sort of feeling (I've never been to CI though).

I have a friend who lives on Grand Island and insists it's the largest "Fresh Water Island" in the world. Does anyone know if this could be true? I know there are plenty of islands in the other Great Lakes (Mackinac Island in Lake Huron or Lake Michigan, for example). Not that it really matters, but...

Just for the record, the Manitoulin Island is the largest FWI in the world (Lake Huron, ON). I'd suspect that Architorture has the right idea.

Just for the record, the Manitoulin Island is the largest FWI in the world (Lake Huron, ON). I'd suspect that Architorture has the right idea.

Isn't that the island that has a lake on it, that has an island in it, making that the only island inside a lake inside an island inside a lake anywhere in the world? I read something about that once.

Isn't that the island that has a lake on it, that has an island in it, making that the only island inside a lake inside an island inside a lake anywhere in the world? I read something about that once.

Yup. Plus the largest lake on an island in a lake, and some other ridiculous stuff. It's a bit smaller than Long Island in NY, and it's quite beautiful. There's a 2-hour ferry ride to get there. It's a very bucolic and remote place... there are no fast food joints, or even real grocery stores to speak of. Not even a Canadian Tire or Tim Hortons (rather shocking for those in the know).

Sorry to steer off-topic.. but alot of my ancestors are from there, so I had to interject and boost a bit. :)

I've been to Grand Island once along the highway... don't remember much. It sounds like it has a colourful history. I was reading a history book last night that mentioned that after the American Revolution, the British still controlled the American side of the Niagara for some time to ease the passage of Loyalists fleeing north, which I had never heard before. What are the forts on the US side called?

Fort Niagara is at the corner of Lake Ontario and the mouth of the Niagara river, the very NW tip of WNY. Built by the French, built up by the British and eventually handed over to the Americans. Has a massive hall, the "Great Hall" which was built by the French in the early 1700's...not only is it haunted, it's the most creepy, dreery looking place I have seen in WNY.

Anyways, you can bash Fantasy Island until the Canadian geese come home (not that I'm saying anybody is), but in my book it was always better than Darien Lake. And now that DL is part of the evil empire that is Six Flags, I think it's more overrated and overpriced than ever. I can remember growing up my grandparents would take me and my brothers to whatever of the two we wanted to go to once a summer. We picked Darien Lake once and never went back. Last time I was there was for Physics Day in high school and half the rides were closed. However, I will agree that Fantasy Island's western shows bite the big one.

Of course if I was voting for my favorite amusement park in the WNY area, with Crystal Beach now gone I'd have to say Seabreeze outside Rochester. Nice and little, yet enough to spend a whole day. Almost has what I think of as a Coney Island sort of feeling (I've never been to CI though).


Y'all youngins probably never experienced Crystal Beach. That was a real amusment park. I can't even begin to tell you about the Commet!

Y'all youngins probably never experienced Crystal Beach. That was a real amusment park. I can't even begin to tell you about the Commet!

i experienced it when i was really young. it closed in the summer of 1989, just before i turned 7, so i don't remember much of it at all. but i know a little about it. actually, my younger sister won a beauty contest there one year. (i think i told this story before.) they had a beauty contest for toddlers or really young kids; my sister was 3. the winner got a modelling contract and a gig with fisher-price to be in their tv commercials. my sister won, but my mom had to turn down the contract, because the filming, photo shoots, acting school, etc, were all in the buffalo area, and we lived (and still live) in delaware at the time.

the comet is now located at an amusement park in lake george, ny. it was disassembled and rebuilt there. you can find this information and other information on the crystal beach amusement park at the fort erie museum in ridgeway.

...the comet is now located at an amusement park in lake george, ny. it was disassembled and rebuilt there..

I thought it was moved to somewhere in Texas... I'm probably confusing that with something else then.

I was there once, probably around the same time, so I would have been 11 or 12 or so. I have a halfway decent memory of it, although my parents claim that it was nothing like it had been. Obviously most of my knowledge of the place comes from their recounts. I remember we were there because my father had a company picnic or something, and I remember that the food (or the hot dogs anyways) completely sucked. I think we just waited until we got back home to actually eat a real meal! I did ride one rollercoaster, but I don't think it was the Comet, it was a smaller woody. I remember bumping my tooth on the restraint when the car first jerked forward, so naturally I didn't enjoy it as much as I could have!

As for Fantasy Island, it's not what I remember it as being either. They took out at least a few halfway decent rides to put that new wooden coaster in, and the park just seemed smaller. Maybe because I'm older... The water park, however, was vastly improved. So I guess you win some and lose some...

they need to set the comet up in Niagara Square.