On Trott's Watch 

James Fullerton Trott was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1815. He was well-educated in the Boston public schools. After living in New York City for several years, he moved to Niagara Falls in 1841. He married Celinda Eliza Whitney in 1844. The Whitneys were one of the earliest and most prominent families of Euro-American descent in Niagara Falls. Trott would also go on to make a name for himself in the city.

Celinda’s father, General Parkhurst Whitney, owned the Cataract House. It was a magnificent, five-story hotel with a reputation as internationally famous as the legendary Falls. When Whitney retired in 1846, he sold the hotel to his son and sons-in-law. By then, the Cataract House had gained another reputation as a final stop on the Underground Railroad. African American waiters who worked at the hotel were known to help enslaved people escape to freedom across the river in Canada.

Since Trott was part-owner of the hotel, he surely hired some of the waiters and was aware that many had fled slavery in the South. Trott and his growing family also lived at the Cataract House during the tourist season, so he was likely aware of some of the waiters’ abolitionist activities. Indeed, some of the most documented Underground Railroad cases occurred on Trott’s watch and instead of losing their jobs, the waiters involved continued to work at the hotel for several years.

Trott was the hotel’s main proprietor and business agent for 40 years. He not only maintained the reputation that Whitney had established, but also enhanced the Cataract House so that it became even more famous.

After his retirement in 1886, Trott continued to guide and develop the Niagara Falls public school system. He was a public-school trustee for 45 years and a member—and frequent president--of the board of education for 50 years. From 1850-1898, Trott aided the library and applied for the charter that allowed the Niagara Falls Public Library to officially open in 1895. “So important was he to the development of schools and libraries in Niagara Falls that he earned the nickname ‘Father of Niagara Falls schools.’”

Trott died in 1898 and was buried in Oakwood Cemetery in Niagara Falls.

In 1929, a high school was dedicated in Trott’s honor. Located at 11th Street between Ashland and Elmwood, Trott Vocational High School served Niagara Falls residents for almost 60 years. James F. Trott is remembered as “one of the most public-spirited and upright men in Niagara Falls.” On Trott’s watch, the Cataract Hotel, Underground Railroad, public schools, and libraries all thrived.

Hope L. Russell, Ph.D.