Niagara Falls History | ToNiagara (2024)

Niagara Falls is one of the world’s top waterfalls. Visited by millions every year, it continues to mesmerize whoever sees it.

The Niagara region and the city of Niagara Falls have a rich and fascinating history. Niagara Falls has seen bloody battles, heroic stunts, the invention of hydroelectric power and more over the years!

Origin of Niagara Falls

Niagara Falls is thought to have been formed at the end of the Ice Age more than 12,000 years ago. As glaciers melted and receded, they eroded underlying rocks and soil, leading to the creation of the Niagara River and Niagara Falls.

The Falls was originally near present day Lewiston. Over the centuries, the force of the water chipped away the rock layers, moving Niagara Falls further upstream to its present location.

Each year, the Falls recedes a bit further with gradual erosion and periodic rock-falls. Much of the water that is supposed to flow over the Falls is diverted to hydroelectric power stations. The diversion of water before it reaches the brink of the Falls has vastly reduced the rate of erosion.

Engineers keep working at remedial measures like repairing faults and constructing underwater weirs.

Niagara Falls History – The Inhabitants of Niagara Falls

It is thought that the first humans arrived in the Niagara region around 12,000 years ago at the end of the Ice Age, right around the time Niagara Falls formed.

The landscape and geography of Niagara region at the end of the Ice Age was very different. Tundra and spruce forests covered the region. During this time (the Paleo-Indian period, which lasted until 9,000 years ago), Niagara was inhabited by the Clovis people. The Clovis were nomadic hunters who camped along the old Lake Erie shoreline.

Around 9,000 years ago, deciduous forests covered the landscape. This period from 9,000 years to 3,000 years ago is called the Archaic Period. Inhabitants of this period were hunter-gatherers. They set up camps at the mouths of rivers and along lakeshores, surviving on a diet of deer, moose, fish and plants.

The Woodland Period lasted from 300 to 3000 years ago. Iroquois tribes inhabited what is now Ontario and upstate New York during this time period. Corn, bean and squash cultivation was taken up by the Iroquois. Agriculture became the main source of food. They lived in palisaded villages with extended or nuclear families living in longhouses.

By the beginning of the 17th century, Iroquoians were divided into clans, villages had chiefs, and there were powerful tribal confederacies.

The French were the first Europeans to set foot in the Niagara region in early 17th century. Jacques Cartier left France in May 1535 to explore the New World. He never saw Niagara Falls but was told about it by the Indians he met along St. Lawrence River.

Samuel de Champlain, the French navigator and cartographer, began exploring North America in 1603. In 1608, he established the French settlement which is now Quebec City. Champlain was the first European to describe the Great Lakes, and published maps of his journeys and information he got from the Natives.

Etienne Brule, the first European to see Lakes Huron, Ontario and Erie, may have been the first to see the Falls in 1615.

French Recollet missionary explorers too arrived in Canada in 1615. Jesuit missionaries followed a decade later. Father Gabriel Lalemant, a Jesuit priest, first recorded the Iroquois name for Niagara River – Onguiaahra, meaning the Strait. Niagara is a simplified version of Onguiaahra.

In 1651, bitter fur trade rivalry led to many wars among the various Native Indian confederacies. The Five Nations Iroquois of New York almost entirely wiped out the three Ontario confederacies of the Huron, the Petun and the Neutrals.

The first European to see and chronicle the sighting of Niagara Falls was the French explorer and Recollet missionary, Father Louis Hennepin. He visited Niagara Falls in December 1678. In his book Nouvelle Decouverte published 19 years later, the first engraving of the Falls was printed.

The region became a French stronghold as they built forts along the mouth of the Niagara River, controlling access to the Great Lakes.

Located north of Youngstown, NY, Fort Niagara was a French fortification built in 1726-1727 to protect the interests of New France in North America. From Fort Niagara, the French were able to control the portage and all trade into the Great Lakes.

British and French fought many wars for control of the Niagara region. Both the nations depended on the support of the Native Indians. The British siege of Fort Niagara in 1759 during the Seven Years War was done to remove French control of the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley regions. Britain won the Seven Years’ War in 1763 and took full control of the present day Ontario region.

Niagara region witnessed battles during the American War of Independence and during the War of 1812. Swift and decisive action by Sir Isaac Brock kept the Americans out of Upper Canada. The Battle of Queenston Heights during the War of 1812 was fought just outside Niagara Falls.

Niagara Falls was a major stop on the Underground Railroad – the routes travelled by slaves escaping the United States. Niagara Falls was just across the border from the US and became the first stop to freedom in Canada.

You can explore the historical side of Niagara Falls by visiting historic sites and buildings in and around Niagara Falls.

The Daredevils of Niagara Falls

Niagara Falls attracted all sorts of visitors – tourists, honeymooners and the thrill seekers.

Many people have attempted to go over or cross the Niagara Falls, some successfully and some with very tragic consequences.

Annie Taylor was the first person to go over the Falls in a wooden barrel in 1901. She survived the fall.

The feat was attempted again in 1911 by Bobby Leach in a steel barrel. He was severely injured but survived.

On July 25, 1920, Englishman Charles G. Stephens attempted to go over the Falls in a wooden barrel which had an anvil as ballast. He ignored the advice of experts to test the barrel first. He tied his feet to the anvil for security. When the barrel hit the bottom of the Falls, the anvil broke through the wooden barrel and took Stephens with it. Only his right arm was recovered.

Others who went over the Falls included Jean Lussier in 1928, George Stathakis in 1930, Nathan Boya in 1961. Many more followed.

Jesse Sharp attempted to go over the Falls in a kayak in 1990. Robert Overacker from California decided to go over the Falls in a jet ski in October 1995. Unfortunately, both men lost their lives while attempting the feats.

Many thrill seekers have tightrope walked over the Falls. French tightrope walker and acrobat Jean-Francois Gravelet, better known as the Great Blondin, walked on a 1000-foot wire that stretched over the Niagara Gorge. He did this on June 30, 1859. He followed this stunt with more such crossings but with different variations. He made crossings blindfolded, pushing a wheelbarrow, on stilts, carrying a man, etc.

The Great Farini (1860), Maria Spelterini (1876), Clifford Claverly (1890s), and Stephen Peer (1887) are some of the other tightrope walkers who walked across Niagara Gorge.

All the tightrope stunts were performed over the Niagara Gorge. In 2012, Nik Wallenda became the first person to tightrope walk over Horseshoe Falls. He crossed from the US side to the Canadian side. Authorities insisted he be attached to a safety harness.

Stunts over Niagara Falls are discouraged now. Anyone caught has to pay very heavy fines and may face jail time too.

How Niagara Falls came to be the Honeymoon Capital of the World

In the early 19th to the 20th century, Niagara Falls gained fame as the honeymoon capital of the world. The actual phrase “Honeymoon Capital of the World” first appeared on promotional posters and brochures in the early 1900s.

Niagara Falls became the preferred honeymoon destination after many famous couples honeymooned here.

A daughter of Aaron Burr, the 3rd vice president of the United States, spent her honeymoon in Niagara Falls in 1801. In 1804, Jerome Bonaparte, Napoleon’s brother, is said to have travelled by stagecoach from New Orleans to Niagara Falls for his honeymoon.

With the invention of trains and the automobile, Niagara Falls became easily accessible to more and more people.

Couples were attracted to Niagara Falls not just for the amazing view of the Falls, but also the many parks and secluded paths which provided privacy and romantic moments.

Nowadays, almost every hotel offers honeymoon packages. Many couples even plan to get married in Niagara Falls.

Historical Sites in Niagara Falls

If you are visiting Niagara Falls, Canada, take time to learn about its fascinating history. Visit Fort George in Niagara-on-the-Lake and Old Fort Erie in Fort Erie to see artifacts, reenactments, musket demonstrations, etc.

Other historically interesting places in Niagara are:

• Queenston Heights Park
• Lundy’s Lane
• McFarland House
• Laura Secord Homestead
• Mackenzie Printery & Newspaper Museum
• Niagara Falls History Museum

Did you know that it was in Niagara that Nikola Tesla invented the alternating current motor which allowed the generation and transmission of hydroelectric power in Niagara Falls, New York? You can see the Nikola Tesla Monument in Queen Victoria Park on Niagara Parkway, Niagara Falls, ON.

Tourists can go on guided tours of the Sir Adam Beck Hydroelectric Power Generating Stations in Queenston, which is just outside Niagara Falls.

Niagara Falls – A Destination for Everyone

Over the years, Niagara Falls has been developed as a destination for everyone. Niagara Falls, Canada has attractions for the whole family.

Many hotels have waterparks where the whole family can enjoy.

Niagara Falls has many parks, restaurants, casinos, shopping, museums, forts, historic sites and wineries.

Niagara Falls is one of the most scenic waterfalls in the world. It can be seen from both USA and Canada. Most people will tell you that the view is better on the Canadian side. It also has more parks and attractions.

In the last 12,000 years, Niagara Falls has moved 11.4 km upstream due to erosion. Niagara Falls has been retreating from Lake Ontario into Lake Erie over the years. Due to environmental efforts, the erosion has reduced to only 1 foot in 10 years.

Even at the reduced rate of erosion, Niagara Falls may no longer exist in 50,000 years when it recedes into Lake Erie.

Book a tour to Niagara Falls and see it in all its splendour today!