Slater’s Dock no longer exists. A century of parkland development, changes in travel habits and the ever-present flow of the Niagara River have left nothing visible from the shore. For a short period in the late 1800s and early part of the 20th century, it was an integral part of Niagara’s transportation system.
The dock in Chippawa was one endpoint of a trolley belt line, the other end residing in Queenston. Steamboats from Buffalo would transport passengers to the dock, where they would board trolleys which would take them into Queen Victoria Park at the brink of the falls. From there connections could be made with local Niagara Falls streetcars or interurbans joining the city of St. Catharines. Toronto bound passengers would have boarded another boat in Queenston (while this is the subject for another episode, it’s worth noting that in July 7, 1915 15 people were killed when operators lost control of an overloaded trolley at the Queenston dock. 157 passengers were on board).
Slater’s Dock went into operation on May 24, 1893 and was abandoned in the early 1900s. The entire trolley line went out of operation on September 11, 1932.
The Niagara Parks commission has a small monument commemorating the dock on the Greater Niagara Circle Route, right at the edge of the parkway and Service Road 30. The roadside stop at the site of the old dock has a few other commemorative signs up, one about the Burning of the Caroline and another for the Niagara River Remedial Action Plan.