LOCKPORT, N.Y. — The bricks that make up this home on Trowbridge Street in Lockport may be worn, but they’re lined with history and the story of Aaron Mossell.

Mossell moved to Lockport after the Civil War in search of a better educational opportunity for his kids.

“He was in a position where he sold bricks to the city of Lockport and the school district for schools and roads,” said Lockport Mayor Anne McCaffrey.  “At the time, unfortunately, his children were not even allowed to attend the school that he was able to sell the bricks to build.”  

For years he petitioned the school board to end segregation.

"Finally, in 1876, the Mossell children and all the black children in Lockport, they closed the colored school and they were allowed to attend any of the schools in the city," said Ann Marie Linnabery, assistant director of the Niagara County Historical Society. 

“It really is a huge achievement that this person made so many years ago, and the federal government didn’t achieve Brown vs. the Board of Education until the 1950s," said McCaffrey, referring to the landmark civil rights case that outlawed segregation in public schools. 

Now, more than 100 years later, the city is looking to breathe new life into the house Mossell built with his own bricks.

“The roof is in good shape, the foundation is in good shape, but the interior needs a lot of work," said McCaffrey. 

The city is in discussions with a nonprofit that has expressed interest in refurbishing the home.

Then it will be sold, but not before making sure Mossell’s legacy is preserved.

“We’d like to put a historic marker out front that really celebrates the importance of what Aaron Mossell accomplished in Lockport," said McCaffrey. 

A reminder that these bricks are unlike any others.