It’s pretty easy to forget how deep the roots of Western New York run in America’s history. As we go around the region living our daily lives, there is a deep legacy of America right here in the 716, and we often just glide by. Especially this year, as several Buffalo area landmarks are celebrating major historical milestones, looking back at the past is a good way to help us make better decisions in the future.
The Erie Canal, for example, which helped to open America for western expansion, turns 200 this year. The Buffalo Zoo, America’s third-oldest zoo, is turning 150, and there are countless other stories to be told from the region.
One of those stories sits underneath a park in Hamburg, New York, that was key in helping keep us all safe during the height of the Cold War.
Western New York Park Was Once a US Military Missile Base
With a few pieces of this history still standing above ground, the land hosts Town of Hamburg Ice Arena, the Hamburg Highway Department, South Towns BMX, and a huge park full of baseball, soccer, and lacrosse fields, was once a huge United States Army Missile Base that helped to protect the northern border of America from a potential attack from Russia in the 1950s and 1960s…