It is said that the name Niagara originates from an Iroquois word meaning “thunder of waters”. The original inhabitants of the region were the Ongiara (an Iroquois tribe named “the Neutrals” by French settlers, who found them helpful in mediating disputes with other tribes).
Who gave the first recorded eyewitness description of Niagara Falls? Samuel de Champlain visited the area as early as 1604, and members of his party reported to him regarding the spectacular waterfalls, which he reported in his journals. Pehr Kalm explored the area in the early 1700s and wrote about it.
However, the consensus honoree is Father Louis Hennepin, who observed and described the Falls in 1677, bringing the Falls to the attention of Europeans. There is also credible evidence that Reverend Paul Ragueneau visited the Falls some 35 years prior to Hennepin’s visit.
During the 18th century, tourism became popular. By mid-century, it was the area’s main industry. Napoleon Bonaparte’s brother Jerome visited with his bride in the early 19th century. Demand for passage over the Niagara River led in 1848 to the building of a footbridge and eventually the Niagara Suspension Bridge. This was eventually supplanted by the Niagara Falls Suspension Bridge in 1855.
After the Civil War, the New York Central railroad publicized Niagara Falls as a great destination for pleasure and honeymoon visits. In 1886, the wood and stone bridge was replaced with the predominantly steel bridge that still carries trains over the Niagara River today. The first steel archway bridge near the Falls was completed in 1897. Known today as the Whirlpool Rapids Bridge, it carries vehicles, trains, and pedestrians between Canada and the US just below the Falls. In 1941 the Niagara Falls Bridge Commission completed the third current crossing in the immediate area of Niagara Falls with the Rainbow Bridge… carrying both pedestrian and vehicular traffic between the two countries and Canadian and US customs for each country.
After the First World War, tourism boomed again as automobiles made trips to the Falls much easier. More recently, the story of The Falls is largely that of efforts to harness their energy for hydroelectric power and to control the development on both sides that threaten the area’s natural beauty.
Quotes about Niagara Falls
- “Niagara was at once stamped upon my heart an Image of Beauty.” – Charles Dickens
- “It is with roses, locomotives and Niagara that [poems] are competing.” – e.e. cummings
- “I have seen the falls and I am all rapture and amazement.” – Henry James
- “At last, fortissimo! [On visiting Niagara]” – Gustav Mahler (on visiting Niagara)
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common misspellings: niagra falls, niagera falls, niagura, niagira, nyagra, niagar
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