John Esser at the Dayton House

One owner of the Datyon House that was of some consequence in the latter half of the 19^th century; was John Esser.  Esser was one of the partners who built the Banner Mill in Black Rock in the 1880’s.  He was also part of The Black Rock Land Company: The earliest developer of the area, the Black Rock Land Company, formed in 1888 as the first development company in the city. Comprised of John Hertel, John Esser, Frank Angus, Louis Roesch and Frederick Ullman, they sold the current site of RiversidePark, the former Germania Park to the city, for inclusion in the Buffalo Parks System. The names of many streets in the area reflect their influence here.

Esser Avenue is in Riverside, running between Tonawanda and Skillen Streets:

Along with ownership of the Dayton House, I have been told Esser also owned 87 Amherst Street:



It’s not always easy to determine which owners of the house actually occupied it because the title shows multiple names for certain periods.  At the time where Esser appears on the title, the only names are his and his wife’s.  It may have been that Esser owned and lived in the house either before or during the time 81 Amherst Street was being built. 

John Esser did not hold the same place in history as Mayor Dayton and as a result, it’s not easy to find information about him.  However, he had enough influence to have a street named after him.  He was also an important figure in the development of Black Rock and Riverside.  The Dayton House, as stated in previous posts, was not a home built or occupied by laborers.  It was the type of home that belonged to plant owners, managers or other positions of standing.  John Esser is another example of the type and stature of occupants who held title to the house.