Niagara Falls isn’t just a natural wonder. It’s a place filled with strange history, unbelievable true stories, and fun local facts that most visitors never learn. From quirky geography to long-lost tales, surprising records, mysteries, and memorable characters, this page brings together the most interesting bits of Niagara’s past and present. Explore these short, easy-to-read stories and discover the hidden side of Niagara that goes far beyond the view from the Falls.
You may have seen the Maple leaf in the center of the Canadian flag. The sugar maple's leaf has come to symbolize Canada. More than 80 percent of the world's maple syrup is produced in Canada.
Canada became a nation, the Dominion of Canada, in 1867. Before that, British North America was made up of a few provinces, the vast area privately owned by the Hudson’s Bay Company, and the North-Western Territory. By 1864, many leaders felt that it would be good to join into one country.
One of the factors that helped the British defend this land from invading Americans was the native Iroquois allies. They lived in longhouses, they cultivated the soil, and they were fierce warriors. The Iroquois Confederacy, also called the Iroquois League of Six Nations, was a confederation of six Native tribes across upper New York state.
There was a Great Lakes native uprising led by Chief Pontiac of the Ottawas, who the car’s named after. Pontiac’s Rebellion occurred 1763 to 1766. The war began in May 1763 when Native Americans, offended by the policies of British General Jeffrey Amherst, attacked a number of British forts and settlements.
Since 1964, an ice boom has been installed at the mouth of the river at Lake Erie, stretching from Buffalo, New York to Fort Erie, Ontario to prevent the big sheets of ice from floating down the river, going over Niagara Falls, and causing damage. It is 1.7 miles, 2.7 kilometers long.
Because of the volume of water flowing over Niagara Falls, it is near impossible for them to completely freeze over. That being said, they can appear to be frozen over.
It used to be a tourist attraction to go out on the river ice in the winter. People would climb the ice bridge, others would set up shacks and sell souvenirs, food and liquor right on the ice. It was a cold Sunday afternoon, February 4, 1912, when suddenly, without warning, the ice started cracking and breaking up.
Waterfalls have almost always been considered romantic. The majesty of the Falls, the rainbows, and the sound of the water all attribute to the romantic atmosphere.
In 1969, The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) was tasked with the dewatering of the American Falls. The $1.5 million project’s purpose was to discover ways to prevent future erosion and determine the feasibility of removing some of the talus from the base of the American Falls. The talus at the base of the America
The Cave of the Winds was a natural cave behind Bridal Veil Falls at the American Niagara Falls that was 130 feet (40m) high, 100 feet (30m) wide and 30 feet (9m) deep. Discovered in 1834, guided tours of the cave began officially in 1841.
Thomas Edison was born in Milan, Ohio, on Febuary 11, 1847. Edison began his career as an inventor in Newark, New Jersey, giving him the nick name "The Wizard of Menlo Park". Edison is accredited with inventing the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and a long-lasting, practical electric light bulb.
Nikola Tesla was a Serbian American inventor, mechanical engineer, electrical engineer, and physicist. Tesla is best known for his work on the design of the modern alternating current (AC) electricity system.
Major-General Sir Isaac Brock was a British Army officer and administrator from Guernsey, Britain. Brock was assigned to Lower Canada in 1802. He was promoted to major general, and became responsible for defending Upper Canada against the United States.
Tecumseh was a Native American leader of the Shawnee and a large tribal confederacy, known as Tecumseh's Confederacy, which opposed the United States during Tecumseh's War and became an ally of Britain in the War of 1812.
Ice wine is a type of dessert wine produced from grapes that have been frozen while still on the vine. The sugars and other dissolved solids do not freeze, but the water does. When the frozen grapes are pressed, this creates a more concentrated, very sweet wine.
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