08/31/2024
Some interesting information about how our road (Davison) got its name!
2. John L. Davison - Some residents of Lockport know Davison Road between East Ave. and High St. was once called “Lover’s Lane.” Part of this road north of High St. existed before 1850 but had no name on maps. When the Niagara County Infirmary opened there in 1915, the “inmates” (the term used at that time), requested the name be changed to something else. William Shapleigh suggested it be named in honor of his father-in-law, John Lester Davison, a local ornithologist who studied and collected bird specimens in that area. In 1918, the Lockport Common Council officially changed the name from Lover’s Lane to Davison Road, but it took many years for the new name to catch on.
John L. Davis was born in 1833 and came to Lockport in the 1860s. In 1875, John took over a business located in the Hodge Opera House block, selling watches and jewelry. After the 1881 Hodge Opera House fire, he became bookkeeper at a bank and retired in 1893. He identified himself as “naturalist” in the federal censuses. Davison traveled all over the United States and Europe to add specimens to his collection. He was considered an authority on the birds of New York State and wrote articles for birding publications. He donated several of his specimens to the Smithsonian Institute and a few years later, gave his collection to the old Lockport High School East Avenue for exhibit. John L. Davison died in 1925 at the age of 92.