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0History Trail Audio Tour
History Trail Audio Tour
This project was supported with funding from the New York State Park and Trail Partnership Grants and New York’s Environmental Protection Fund. Park and Trail Partnership Grants are administered by Parks & Trails NY in partnership with the NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.
You can also read a description of each History Trail interpretive sign and its text below:
People on the Land
On the right side of this sign is a map of Cheektowaga from 1893 showing the outline of present-day Reinstein Woods in red, the route of the Buffalo, Bellevue & Lancaster Railway Company Electric Trolley in blue, and the border of the Buffalo Creek Reservation in yellow.
The earliest people known to live in this area were the Neutrals, who lost their lands to the Seneca Nation of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy in the 1600s. After the American Revolutionary War, the Six Nations of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy were forced to settle on reservations, including the Buffalo Creek Reservation that was granted to the Seneca Nation. Part of that reservation was in the southern third of the present day preserve. During the early 1800s, the Holland Land Company sold the northern two-thirds of the preserve to settlers. The Seneca Nation sold the Buffalo Creek Reservation land as part of the Buffalo Creek Compromise Treaty in 1842. In the 1880s, the Bellevue Land & Improvement Company purchased the current preserve lands, speculating that their electric trolley line would bring development to the area. When the trolley line was abandoned around 1930, the Bellevue Land & Improvement Company hired attorney Dr. Victor Reinstein to sell their holdings.
What sounds might you have heard on this spot in the 1880s?
Preserve Benefactors
On the right side of this sign is a photo of Dr. Victor and Julia Boyer Reinstein inside their home in Bellevue, a neighborhood near Reinstein Woods.
Dr. Victor Reinstein was a physician, attorney, and businessman, who flourished in those roles and had a big impact on the Town of Cheektowaga. He and his second wife, Julia Boyer Reinstein, were local philanthropists, supporting a variety of causes including history, libraries, and parks.
In 1932, Dr. Reinstein purchased much of what is now Reinstein Woods Nature Preserve from the Bellevue Land & Improvement Company. He acquired additional land in 1942. Dr. Reinstein and his family dramatically altered the landscape by creating ponds, building roads, and adding trees and other plants to enhance habitat for wildlife and to create the scenery you see today.
In 1986, Dr. Reinstein’s Estate and Julia Boyer Reinstein donated approximately 270 acres of land to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Additional donations and purchases created this 292-acre sanctuary that was officially dedicated as the Dr. Victor Reinstein Woods Nature Preserve on August 23, 1989.
Can you find any natural additions made by Dr. Reinstein on this trail?
The Preserve’s Namesake
On the right side of this sign is a closeup photo of Dr. Victor Reinstein. In the lower left-hand corner from left to right are photos of the following animals: an American bullfrog in a pond, a white-tailed deer facing the camera, and a Common Loon swimming.
Born to Russian immigrants Boris and Anna Reinstein, Dr. Victor Reinstein grew up in Cheektowaga. His mother Dr. Anna Reinstein was the first female obstetrician/gynecologist in Western New York. While Victor earned both a medical and a law degree, according to his daughter, he would have preferred engineering. As a self-taught engineer, he enjoyed constructing the roads and ponds at Reinstein Woods.
His love of this land began during his childhood, when as a boy and a young man he wandered the area that would later become his property. In Buffalo’s Backyard Wilderness (1993) a book by Bruce Kershner, Kershner reports that Dr. Reinstein told his wife: “As a child, I often visited the Adirondacks with my family to enjoy nature; now I don’t have the time to visit the Adirondacks, so I brought the wilderness to Cheektowaga.”
Travel on to learn more about how Dr. Reinstein altered the landscape that became Reinstein Woods.
What animals at Reinstein Woods could you also find in the Adirondack Mountains?
Planting Seedlings for the Future
On the right side of this sign is a photo of Norway spruce trees planted by Dr. Reinstein along this trail. On the left side is a photo that appeared in the Buffalo News Magazine in 1978 showing Dr. Victor Reinstein kneeling next to a tree seedling that he is planting with a shovel. The headline reads “Victor Reinstein’s Land of Opportunity: Cheektowaga.”
Along the north side of the trail is a beautiful row of Norway spruce trees (Picea abies), planted by Dr. Reinstein and his family.
When Dr. Reinstein acquired the property, much of the northern half was open fields and small shrubs and trees. He and his family planted evergreen seedlings to create a forest to provide shelter for wildlife. Between 1950 and 1955, they planted more than 30,000 spruces, pines, and tamaracks on about 20% of the property. The family planted trees in clusters instead of straight rows like tree farms, for a more natural appearance.
Squirrels, especially red squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus), like to eat the seeds of spruce trees. Look for busy squirrels and piles of cones they have gathered at the base of these trees.
Can you find signs that squirrels were here?
Building a Preserve
On the right side of this sign is a photo showing drained earth during the construction of Secluded Swamp. In the lower left corner is a photo of Julia Reinstein, Victor and Julia Reinstein’s daughter, holding a snapping turtle along the trail in the 1960s.
You are facing Secluded Swamp, one of 19 waterbodies created by Dr. Reinstein. Before Dr. Reinstein owned this land, two streams running through Reinstein Woods would temporarily flood in spring, but there were no true ponds. By adding dams and deepening channels, Dr. Reinstein built new habitats, creating more than 40 acres of ponds, marsh, and other wetlands on about 20% of the land in the preserve.
On Secluded Swamp, you may see painted turtles sunning themselves on logs or snapping turtles swimming under the surface. Look for waterfowl, such as Canada geese, mallards, and wood ducks, in the water. Great blue herons often stop by and roost on taller trees across the pond or stand in the water hunting for fish.
A swamp is a forested wetland. How do you think this site may have changed since Dr. Reinstein created this pond?
Flattail Lake
On the right side of this sign is a photo of Dr. Victor Reinstein in a canoe on Flattail Lake in 1979. On the bottom left is a photo of a North American beaver crossing a road at Reinstein Woods.
Flattail Lake is the largest body of water in the property and the first pond created by Dr. Reinstein. It was named after the beaver, Dr. Reinstein’s favorite animal.
He began construction in 1939, using bulldozers to deepen the pond basin and create an earthen dam made from mud, clay, trees, and construction materials. In 1998, the Department of Environmental Conservation rehabilitated the Flattail Lake dam to comply with New York State dam safety standards.
Enjoy a sneak peek here, and you will be able to get a better view of Flattail Lake towards the end of the History Trail.
Why does a beaver have a flat tail?
Roads to Trails
On the right side of this sign is an aerial photo of Dr. Reinstein’s road plan for Reinstein Woods from 1959. On the bottom left side is a photo of US Army vehicles on a road in Reinstein Woods in 1944.
Dr. Reinstein constructed eight miles of gravel roads to provide access to maintain the ponds and the stone house. Underneath the interior roads, like the one you are standing on, is slag waste from area steel mills. This made the roads sturdy enough for heavy trucks. To disturb the forest as little as possible, Dr. Reinstein placed roads along natural openings, and he would only remove trees less than one foot in diameter.
In the 1930s Dr. Reinstein built the first road, Honorine Drive. He named it after his first wife, Honorine, who died in 1937. He built the roads circling Flattail Lake on the south and west in the late 1940s. Most other roads were built in the 1950s. The History Trail starts on the last road constructed, built in the late 1960s. That road meanders to the western border of the property by Stiglmeier Park.
During World War II, Dr. Reinstein allowed United States Army personnel to practice on the trails and in the woods before heading off to war in Europe.
Look for moon rocks along the trails. These are pieces of slag from steelmaking that Dr. Reinstein used to build the roads!
Stone Marker
On the right side of this sign is a photo of the stone marker. Continuing in a clockwise direction, there is a close-up of American beech tree leaves, and a close-up of sugar maple leaves.
Just off the History Trail is a large stone that originated in the Hudson Valley. A similar stone is deep in the woods straight to the west. How did they get here?
Initially, it was believed that the Holland Company placed the stones there as part of their survey of Western New York In 1798 and 1799. However, the Land Company normally used post trees rather than stones at survey corners. The stones are in lines when the township was divided into parcels in the 1800s.
The Holland Land Company recorded surrounding vegetation during their survey. This area was described as “upland of second quality,” with the most common trees noted as beech, maple and hemlock. The forest is still dominated by American beech (Fagus grandifolia) and sugar maple (Acer saccharum), but few eastern hemlock trees (Tsuga canadensis) remain today.
See if you can spot American beech trees with smooth, gray bark and sugar maples with bark flaking off in vertical plates.
In the early 1800s, how would you move a stone from the Hudson River to Reinstein Woods?
Cheektowaga’s Great Lady
On the right side of this sign is Mrs. Reinstein sitting on a log looking out over Flattail Lake. On the lower left side is a close-up of two pink fragrant pond lilies on Lily pond.
Julia Boyer Reinstein (1906-1998) spent much of her childhood in Warsaw, New York. She met Dr. Reinstein while volunteering as a WWII Civil Defense worker and married him in 1942. During her life, she was a teacher, mother, advocate for women’s rights, philanthropist, and local history promoter.
It is these last two roles that earned her the title of “Cheektowaga’s great lady.” Mrs. Reinstein was the first Town of Cheektowaga historian (1953 – 1992). She co-founded the Erie County Historical Federation and influenced the development of historical societies throughout New York.
At the end of the History Trail you will see Lily Pond. It was Mrs. Reinstein’s idea to plant the hot pink water lilies that provide a brilliant display in late spring and summer.
Reinstein Family Picnics
On the right side of this sign is a photo of Julia Boyer Reinstein cooking near the picnic shelter with three guests standing nearby. Several more people are seated at tables under the picnic shelter, including a woman with her back to the camera who is sitting on a bench made from a log supported by legs made of bricks. In the lower center of the sign is a photo of Julia Boyer Reinstein standing under the picnic shelter. She is facing the camera and smiling. In the background there is a yellow car parked next to the picnic shelter.
Julia and Victor Reinstein hosted gatherings along Flattail Lake. Victor and his son Robert built a large red brick BBQ pit for entertaining the local fire company, town officials, town and county planning departments as well as family and friends.
Dr. Reinstein purchased a large, covered steel picnic shelter (originally built to be a maple sugaring shack) and added benches hand-made out of logs and bricks to provide seating. Julia had an area to prepare meals and drinks, and to wash dishes.
Rumor has it that Dr. Reinstein used marble from a mansion that was torn down in Buffalo as a floor for the shelter. The BBQ pit was removed in the early 1980s. However, you may run across a red brick here and there while walking the trail, and maybe catch a whiff of past barbecue meals.
Walk out to the lake and enjoy the view. In the spring, Flattail Lake is the best place to spot migrating waterfowl, including loons and even an occasional osprey.
Can you spot any other animals that call Flattail Lake home?
The Stone House
On the upper right side of this sign is a photo showing the Stone House viewed from Flattail Lake dam in 1975. The trees along the shoreline are fully leafed out. Below this photo is a photo of Dr. Victor Reinstein standing by the Stone House in 1974. The windows are covered with shutters, and there are various pieces of metal construction waste on the ground around Dr. Reinstein.
Dr. Reinstein and his sons built this house in 1963-1965 to serve as a summer home. In a creative twist, Dr. Reinstein built the staircase to the second floor with two beaver-cut logs and risers made from black cherry (a highly valuable wood) harvested on site. The first level features a stone floor (harvested from the local quarry) and originally included a living and dining area, kitchen and bathroom. A large central fireplace cuts through the structure and helps separate the two second floor bedrooms.
The house and the land around it were not part of the 1986 donation to New York State. Mrs. Reinstein donated the house and land in 1994, subject to a life estate for her stepson, who graciously turned over the property to New York State in 2004. The state performed extensive asbestos abatement in 2006-2007. However, structural issues continue to hamper its use.
Look closely at the limestone rock walls. You may find fossils of corals and other creatures who lived here millions of years ago, when a great sea covered Reinstein Woods.
Rails to Trails
On the right side of this sign is a photo of the first BB&L Railway electric trolley car to run between Buffalo and Lancaster in 1893. There are five people standing in front of the car, several on the front and rear stairs of the trolley, one person looking out of a rear window, and two people looking out of open windows in the middle of the trolley car. Across the bottom of the sign, from left to right, are a photo of an American Robin on a branch with a red berry in its mouth, a photo of a red squirrel on a branch facing the camera with its front paws tucked into its chest, and a photo of 9 painted turtles sunning themselves on a log in a pond.
In the 1880s, the Buffalo, Bellevue and Lancaster Railway Company (BB&L) constructed a railroad bed for an electric trolley running from Buffalo to Lancaster. The trolley ran south along Honorine Drive (on which you are standing) to the center of the preserve before turning east toward Lancaster.
BB&L electric trolley cars began moving passengers between Lancaster and Buffalo in 1893. BB&L abandoned the trolley line by 1930, and area farmers used remaining wooden railroad ties as fencing. The railroad bed is still visible in a few places in the preserve sanctuary, appearing as straight, trough-like depressions in the forest.
What animals might trolley passengers have seen here?
Dr. Victor Reinstein Woods Nature Preserve Today
On the upper left side of this sign is a photo showing the front of the Reinstein Woods Environmental Education Center, with a small tree in bloom in front of the building. In the lower left is an aerial photo of Reinstein Woods taken in 2005. The photo shows land from Como Park Boulevard to the north to Losson Road to the south, and from Borden Road on the east to Stiglmeier Park on the west. The property boundary of Reinstein Woods is marked in white.
In 2000, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) started to expand environmental education programs at Reinstein Woods, gradually opening trails that had been largely closed to the public. In April 2007 DEC opened the Environmental Education Center which serves as a base for year round nature and environmental programs, including snowshoe and ski opportunities.
In 2003, DEC asked a core group of volunteers to form the non-profit Friends of Reinstein Nature Preserve, Inc. (now Friends of Reinstein Woods) to provide vital financial and volunteer support for programs aimed at youth, teachers, and the public. Friends of Reinstein Woods also bolsters projects that enhance the natural habitats of Reinstein Woods.
With the support of visitors like you, we will sustain Reinstein Woods as a place of learning and refuge for future generations.
This ends the tour of Reinstein Woods’ History Trail. Want to explore more? Visit our other interpretive trails or sign up for a guided walk. For more information, visit our website at reinsteinwoods.org.