33 Facts About Joseph Dart

Joseph Dart was an American businessman and entrepreneur associated with the grain industry.

Joseph Dart was well educated and at the age of 17 began an apprenticeship in a hat factory before managing one in 1819.

Joseph Dart conceived of a machine-powered grain elevator in 1842, the first in America and known as Joseph Dart's Elevator.

Joseph Dart married Dotha Dennison in 1830 and had seven children, several of whom died young.

Joseph Dart lived in an elegant home during the latter years of his eighty year life, where he and his wife hosted elaborate balls and dinners.

Joseph Dart died in September 1879 aged 80, having been described in "very good health" up until his last days.

Joseph Dart's parents were Joseph and Sarah Dart and he was their third son.

Joseph Dart received a good education and at the age of 17, moved to Woodbury, Connecticut, where he took work in a hat factory as an apprentice.

Joseph Dart moved in 1819 to manage a different hat business in Utica, New York, until 1821.

Joseph Dart moved to Buffalo in 1821, then a village of about 1,800 residents.

Joseph Dart learned to converse with members of the Canadian Six Nations of the Grand River, consisting of the Mohawk, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida, Seneca and Tuscarora tribes.

Joseph Dart remained in the hat and fur trading business until 1836, the year following the death of Stocking in 1835, although other sources indicate he stayed in the industry until 1837.

Joseph Dart sold the business to Stocking's son, Thomas R Stocking.

Around four years after Joseph Dart arrived in Buffalo, the Erie Canal was fully completed in 1825 at 353 miles long.

Joseph Dart, who was considered to be "a methodical and industrious man", turned his attention to the grain trading industry, identifying Buffalo's favourable position as a grain trading port on the canal.

Joseph Dart believed that the increase in trade required facilities capable of meeting the demand.

Alongside Scottish mechanical engineer Robert Dunbar, Joseph Dart oversaw construction of a steam-powered grain elevator, the first in America, dedicating around 10 years of his life to the business.

The principles used by Joseph Dart were not dissimilar to those used by Delaware's flour mills, utilizing conveyor belts powered by a steam engine, which Joseph Dart described as being "a simple apparatus".

Joseph Dart attributed credit to inventor Oliver Evans, who conceived the original idea of an elevator fifty years before.

Joseph Dart faced numerous challenges during construction, with some predictions it would not succeed.

Joseph Dart's elevator opened in June 1843 and in its first year of operation, 229,260 bushels of grain were unloaded.

The grain elevator Joseph Dart introduced to Buffalo helped it progress from a small village to among the most prosperous during the 19th century.

In 1852, Dart became a lumber dealer with his brother Erastus and brother-in-law William H Ovington.

Dart's son Joseph joined his father in the lumber industry after graduating from Yale University in 1874.

Joseph Dart helped establish the Buffalo Water Works and was a founding member of the Buffalo Seminary, as well as a member of the Buffalo Historical Society.

Joseph Dart took considerable interest in local political affairs, although never held any political office.

Joseph Dart was described as being a kind, Christian gentleman with integrity and was well respected by those who associated with him.

Joseph Dart bought a grand house on the north-east corner of Niagara Street and Georgia Street in 1858 where he lived until his death.

On September 28,1879, Joseph Dart died at the age of eighty.

Joseph Dart was survived by three children, Joseph Dart Jr and two daughters.

Joseph Dart's remains are buried in Buffalo's Forest Lawn Cemetery.

Joseph Dart lived long enough to witness the improved and more substantial elevators built years after his initial one, after "setting the pace" in advancing grain transport between the east and west.

Joseph Dart's innovations are associated with his name being remembered as bringing advancements in the Buffalo region.