Jacob Friedrich Schoellkopf (November 15, 1819 – September 15, 1899) was a pioneer in harnessing the hydroelectric power of Niagara Falls.

Jacob F. Schoellkopf was born on November 15, 1819, in Kirchheim Unter Teck,[1] a small town in the Kingdom of Württemberg.

In 1844, with $800 (equivalent to $26,000 in 2023) of capital loaned to him by his father,[3] he moved to Buffalo, New York, to begin his own business in a small leather store which he established in Mohawk Street.

His approach was to ensure they were successful and sell them at a profit to enable him to seek out new outlets for his increasing capital.

2 opened directly in front of the original, in the gorge below Niagara Falls, with a higher 210-foot (64 m) drop.

[2] Following the formation of the Niagara Falls Power Company in 1918, Schoellkopf Jr. was elected chairman of the board for the corporation, a position that he held for eighteen years.

In 1929, they organized the Niagara Share Corporation as a trust for all the stock owned by family members.

[4] In 1867, he was on the Board of Directors for "Buffalo German Insurance Company" along with Henry Persch and William Hellriegel.

[3] The Schoellkopfs lived in a large mansion at 553 Delaware Avenue at Allen Street on the southeast corner.