REPORT. To the Honorable the Legislature of the State of New York: The commissioners of the State Reservation at Niagara, as required by law, submit their report for the fiscal year begun October 1, 1901, and ended September 30, 1902, this being their nineteenth annual report. The important improvements made during the fiscal year end ing September 30, 1902, have been the installation of a system of water pipes for the Reservation grounds and buildings, the cutting away and grading of the banks at the approach to Goat Island, the installation of an Automatic Safety Brake for the Inclined Railway, the removal of the office building from Green Island, the removal of the Cottage dwelling house from Goat Island, the removal of the gate house adjacent to the entrance to the steel arch bridge, the grading and planting at Prospect Point and at the American and Horse-shoe Falls on Goat Island. ESTIMATED RECEIPTS. The following is our estimate of the receipts for the fiscal year STATEMENT OF NEEDED IMPROVEMENTS. For alterations of Inclined Railway building (addi tional)... For roads and walks. . . For installing system of electric lighting (additional) $2,500 00 10,000 00 10,000 00 500 00 The roads within the Reservation on the mainland have been repaired from year to year, but they are not in good condition. The roads were in use before the establishment of the Reservation and were not properly constructed. Since the establishment of the Reservation no appropriation has been made for the reconstruction of the roads on the mainland. There are more than five miles of road within the Reservation, and the wear, especially on the hillsides during wet seasons like the last, is very great. The necessity for first-class roads within the Reservation for the public convenience, and as an object lesson on the part of the State, is apparent to all. An additional appropriation of $2,500 is asked for the alteration of the Inclined Railway building, according to the plans and specifications made by the State Architect; an additional appropriation of $10,000 is also asked to complete the installation of a system of electric lighting for the Reservation grounds and buildings, in accordance with the recommendations of the State Engineer and Surveyor. REQUIREMENTS FOR ORDINARY MAINTENANCE. The following is our estimate of the amounts required for ordinary maintenance for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1904. The appropriation of $25,000 made each year for ordinary maintenance has been found to be insufficient, and each year we have been obliged to dispense with necessary labor towards the close of the fiscal year, when greatly needed to keep the grounds in order. The amount will be more inadequate in the future, because the care of the new shelter building requires additional labor. The new stone arch bridges to the islands are not provided with gates, thus requiring the service of watchmen night and day, and the increasing number of trees and shrubs under cultivation requires an additional amount of care and maintenance. The proper maintenance of the Reservation roads and walks requires a large annual expenditure. For these reasons $35,000 is asked for care and maintenance, instead of the $25,000 usually appropriated. PROPOSED STATE ROAD SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT APPENDICES. The sum of $500 is asked to defray the expense of an examination and report by the State Engineer and Surveyor upon the desirability of a road under the jurisdiction of the State, from the State Reservation along the bank of the Niagara river to Fort Niagara and Lake Ontario. Fort Niagara and Lake Ontario. (See page 55). The report of the Superintendent, containing the details of the works of maintenance and improvement, is herewith submitted; also a statement by the Secretary and Treasurer of the receipts and disbursements for the fiscal year ending September 30th, 1902. "A History of Fort Niagara," by Hon. Peter A. Porter, of Niagara Falls, and a geological paper upon "The Past and Future of Niagara Falls," by Mr. Warren Upham, of St. Paul, Secretary of the Minnesota Historical Society, are appended hereto. THE CREATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE STATE RESERVA TION AT NIAGARA. The occurrence this year of the twentieth anniversary of the creation of this Commission gives propriety to a retrospect of the movement which culminated in the establishment of the State Reservation at Niagara in 1883, and of the work accomplished by this Commission during the two decades of its existence. THE EVOLUTION OF A NEW PRINCIPLE. The act of the State of New York in taking property under the power of eminent domain solely for the purpose of restoring, preserving and giving access to it, on account of its remarkable natural beauty, was at that time exceptional, if not unique, in the history of the individual States. So far as we have been able to trace the genesis in this country of the principle of gov ernmental authority to protect and preserve extraordinary phenomena in natural scenery, it was first established in 1872, in which year the Yellowstone National Park was reserved and withdrawn by the federal government "from settlement, occupancy or sale under the laws of the United States and dedicated |