Peter A. Porter
| Peter Augustus Porter | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 34th district |
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In office March 4, 1907 – March 4, 1909 |
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| Preceded by | James Wolcott Wadsworth |
| Succeeded by | James S. Simmons |
| Member of the New York Assembly from Niagara County | |
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In office January 1, 1886 – December 31, 1887 |
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| Preceded by | Walter P. Horne |
| Succeeded by | Nelson D. Haskell |
| Village President of Niagara Falls | |
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In office January 1, 1878 – December 31, 1878 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
October 10, 1853 Niagara Falls, New York |
| Died | December 15, 1925 (aged 72) Buffalo, New York |
| Resting place | Oakwood Cemetery |
| Political party |
Republican Independent Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Alice Adelle Taylor |
| Relations | See Breckinridge family |
| Children | 3 |
| Parents |
Peter A. Porter Mary Cabell Breckenridge |
| Education | St. Paul's School |
| Alma mater | Yale College (1874) |
Peter Augustus Porter (October 10, 1853 – December 15, 1925) was a U.S. Representative from New York, and grandson of Peter Buell Porter. Porter was the son of Colonel Peter A. Porter, the Civil War hero who bravely died in the bloody Battle of Cold Harbor. Porter was one of Niagara's first native poets.
Porter was born in Niagara Falls, New York on October 10, 1853, the only son of Mary Cabell Breckenridge and Col. Peter Augustus Porter (1827–1864), who was the only son of Gen. Peter Buell Porter (1773–1844). His mother died when he was four years old. He was taught by private teachers and later attended St. Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire from 1865 to 1871. He graduated from Yale College in 1874 and then traveled extensively.
From 1880 to 1895, Porter owned the Niagara Falls Gazette, which had been founded in 1854, and converted it into a daily newspaper in 1893. He built the Arcade Building on Falls street in which the Gazette and the United States post office were housed for many years. He owned the famous old hostelry, the Cataract House, for many years. He was president of the Cataract Bank for some time.
In 1885, his family sold Goat Island and much of the mainland adjoining the river, which the Porter family had owned since 1816, to the Niagara Reservation, which New York State had established to create Niagara Falls State Park in the same year, becoming the first state park in the United States. He served as a director of the predecessor of the Niagara Falls Power Company, called Niagara River Hydraulic Tunnel, Power, and Sewer Company.
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