A Short History of Niagara Falls

(after Sherman Zavitz – Official Historian of Niagara Falls)

What is now known as the Old Downtown area was once the center of attraction for commerce and nightlife up until the 1970s. But before that peoples of many tribes were attracted to the thundering falls and great clouds of water that Niagara Falls generate. The Niagara Falls area has a long history that began with American Indians and more specifically the Chippawa tribe. Most of the early white settlers to the area arrived around the time of the American Revolution and were empire loyalists. Familiar names like Lundy and Bending hail from that time. The city of Niagara Falls was incorporated in the year 1904 and was formed from the Town of Niagara Falls and the Village of Niagara Falls. In 1963 the city of Niagara Falls saw a large increase in population when the city was amalgamated with the Township of Stamford. The final additions to the city were made in 1970 when Chippawa, Crownland and Willoughby were added.

During this time Queen Street remained the center of attraction for commerce and entertainment. Continued commercial development saw the creation of the Niagara Square mall and the explosive development of the Clifton Hill area which saw much of the commerce and entertainment leave the Queen Street area. For 30 years the old downtown core was in decline until the Historic Niagara group began work to revitalize the area in 2006 to turn it back in to the attraction it once was. Today, Historic Niagara owns some 40 buildings in the area and is working to bring new business to this once vital area. The redevelopment of Queen Street would represent a major economic benefit to the City of Niagara Falls, and would provide tourists and visitors with an additional attraction that would give them a reason to prolong their visit and sample the best of what Niagara Falls has to offer.

A History of the Gorge

When lake Champlain drained mostly away what was left were the great lakes. Some 60,000 years ago lake Erie was left to drain into lake Ontario which in turn drains into the Atlantic Ocean through the St. Lawrence river. The Niagara river has been flowing for all of those 60,000 years, and the the height difference between lake Erie and lake Ontario necessarily means that at some point a waterfall has to occur. When the lakes were formed this waterfall was at, or close to, the coast of lake Ontario. When water flows over stone it actually eats away particles, or sometimes chunks, of the stone in a process called erosion. Many myths and legend talk about the battle between stone (earth) and water, and how the cool patience of water eventually erodes the stone. In the case of the Niagara river 60,000 years of erosion has caused the waterfall to move from the coast of lake Ontario to where it is now in Niagara Falls. Eventually the erosion caused by the river will move the falls all the way to coast of lake Erie and the lake could conceivably drain out – but this is another 100,000 or so years in the future and nothing can speed it up - so, check back often and enjoy the great Niagara Attraction that is the gorge. Oh, and the falls are nice too!