Thanks all...It makes good sense as there was alot of pigeon gambling in this area.
OK...here's my second attempt at shooting this Cashmore to capture the contrast
This last photo is the Niagara County Shooting Club c1884
That Stevens tip-up held by the woman 3rd from the right is still in my family
In the late 1800's there were so many trap shooting clubs in Niagara County that there was a scarcity of pigeons which led to at least three companies who manufactured glass and composition round target balls in that county alone...Shooters from across NYS poured into Niagara Falls to shoot, often at a buck a shot (to start) back when you could buy a working farm for around $300. The scarcity of live birds along with the demand for gambling led to live sparrow shoots in Tonawanda.
