The marker includes information about the native peoples of the area, original inhabitants, the history of the area, including the War of 1812, and the rise of the city of Buffalo.
It reads
"The Niagara River between Lakes Ontario and Erie was the natural route to the interior of the continent. Following the arrival of French explorers in 1678, missionaries, traders, troops and settlers traveled by its waters. At the outlet of the Niagara River into Lake Ontario, the French in 1726 built Fort Niagara. A strategic post during the intercolonist wars, it was used as a base for British raids and was finally surrendered to the United States in 1796.
Buffalo at the Lake Erie end of the Niagara River, was opened to settlement by the Holland Land Company in 1803-04. During the war of 1812, Buffalo, like other Niagara Frontier communities was burned. A period of remarkable growth began when Buffalo became the western terminus of the Erie Canal in 1825.
Buffalo and its environs developed into a great transportation hub and a center for industry, especially flour milling and steel manufacture. Water power from Niagara Falls generates electricity distribued over a wide area. Educational and natural institutions combine with the natural setting and economic opportunities make Buffalo the state's second largest city".